The virus is loose across the Bay Area. Flashpoints are erupting across the peninsula as entire districts fall into chaos and infected swarms push deeper into civilian zones.
CERC forces are already in the field.
Embedded military reporters and frontline operators are transmitting battlefield coverage directly from active operations. The images you are about to see were captured during recent combat deployments across the region.
These transmissions come directly from the front.
The battle for the Bay Area has begun.
2026.6.18.2 Change list:
Speculative crash fix for https://discord.com/channels/469412014427602944/1517178563135144120/1517209529715134716
Added Discord API + Discord Integration
Weather System added (Hail, Thunder, Fog & Clouds based on time of day)
[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/75jyViz6WaM"]
Updated some of the longer hover tips for Civilian Intake Bus states to use newline to help them fit
Fixed a major flaw with 'edge detection during turn in place' for vehicles that was causing vehicles to often fail to exit 'turn in place' state near low-rooftops (like civilian intake bus garages)
Fixed a landscape-able Forklift mesh that was reporting not having a proper nav area class assigned
Fixed an in-editor warning about landscapable when driving near/on the 'post' left behind from certain types of shattered light posts
Adjusted some evac helicopter landing/move to land logic to stop a 'conflict of interest' which causes the helicopter to reissue a move order (and get into a loop) if landing over evac pad while being slightly off-center
Adjusted the Map Border collision profile to properly block construction (so you can't build an evac site 'off the playable area' and run into bugs because of it)
Set up Winter to be part of the initial squad in Calypso Pandemic (she was missing)
Formation System: added some 'adjust to ground level' logic while formation is in motion, fixing up some stuck cases when units are moving in formation up a large ramp/cliff
Fixed a duplication bug when building on zone borders
Changed the unstable map being selected by default when you opened pandemic as a map selection
Updated Localizations from latest text/new options added
Added the ability to turn off Infected Kill Cash Reward in Custom game option. Meaning SOCS/Evacuation are the only methods to gain cash
Added Gameplay Options for disabling XP Markers in RTS/Operator
Updated infected overhead UI to more quickly respect Cinematic Mode
Adjusted 'overhead player UI' to more reliably hide when enabling cinematic mode
Combat Flares no longer renders the eagle icon over them
Details Panel: Updated to state 'under construction' if selected unit isn't finished building yet =Also lists out power generated/required text differently if under construction
Improvements to Unit Details Panel's 'single unit display' mode to properly update if you have a 'structure under construction' selected and it finishes construction while still selected
Improvements to 'power out!' UX for critical structures (Guard Tower/Turrets) -Details panel also updated to be more reliable and visible in listing power outage on selected structure
Fixed a bug that was restricting tower guards from firing fully 360 degrees
Some adjustments to Intake Bus 'drop off at zone with Intake off' (after moving to drop off intake at a Zone that *had* it on while we were on the way there) to try to reduce stuck cases
Fix: if intake is disabled in a Zone and civilians were still waiting on it, once they want to go to a facility that is not available, they will instead be sent back into a world building (to free up space)
Various Vehicle Movement/Pathing Performance improvements
Improved some edge cases for vehicles where they could get confused and erroneously reissue a move order
Added Vehicle Edge/Fall detection so they don't drive off inclines they cannot get back up. I.E like falling off bridges
Improvements to Vehicle rotate in place to stop the "dancing"
Hand scanner idle updated
Fixed idle fire pose for RTS units
New landscapable objects added based on community suggestions from previously unremovable objects in various maps
Improved how the Day/Night system "rotates" for weather changes visually
Reduced Infected Bird count from 256 to 100 per swarm, this is purely visual and does not affect balance.
Fixed an issue with Infected bird rendering to further improve performance.
Added a global build limit of 12 for Evacuation Sites
Added a per-Zone build limit of 3 for Euthanization Buildings
Changed objectives list to turn 'completed objectives' to green instead of gray
Backup logic added for when a Civilian fails to move to a world building due to there being no space left =And 'save validation' logic for Civilian Faction Manager post load to fix up 'orphaned' civvies who were in such a state before the above fix
Adjusted description of the Custom Game Option 'Attack Interval Override' to not be so verbose that it goes offscreen
Set up basic hover tip text for each 'state' Intake Bus's details panel can be in, so mousing over it will give more details about what the Intake Bus's current state means
Fixes for biomass/infected population tracking for infected
Objectives ticker added and binded to toggle with F7
Updated Calypso water to use the proper water system.
Set up 'Civilian Processing at Capacity' status for Intake Buses to be more descriptive
Set up non-player controlled ground vehicles (like the Intake Bus) to use bStopOnOverlap, unlike player controlled ground vehicles, so they do not get stuck
Added Victory Screen after all Pods/Chelsey is killed
The Next 60 Days of Cepheus Protocol...
Civilian Evacuation is now playable from start to finish, and today’s update is focused on hotfixes, cleanup, and what comes next for the Rebuild.
If you missed yesterday’s post covering one of the biggest updates to ever touch the Cepheus Protocol Rebuild, you can read it here: [dynamiclink href="https://steamcommunity.com/games/979640/announcements/detail/525374254465680188"]CERC HQ EP 91 Summary:
The evacuation system just hit a major milestone. For the first time, players can now play through the entire civilian rescue loop from beginning to end. This includes fully functional intake processing, evacuation buses, infection scanning upgrades, doctrine progression, and direct civilian movement into evacuation zones.
New doctrine upgrades now let you streamline processing, skip holding cells, and massively improve evacuation efficiency as your operation grows.
The infected are also getting a major overhaul. Infection spread has been rebalanced, structure construction is now visible before activation, and the late game is being tuned to reduce the frustrating “whack-a-mole” pressure players were running into. Endless Horde Mode is now available as a custom option for players who want the infection to spread forever.
Vehicle pathfinding, helicopters, gates, airstrikes, radio systems, and multiplayer syncing all received major fixes this week. The team also reworked a large number of save/load issues, improved performance for large sessions, and added better RTS management tools for handling evacuation zones and civilian flow.
Next up is a full push on formation AI, infected intelligence, new infected variants, infected lieutenants(Her Operators), Infected Leviathan (Late game super unit), Operator improvements, and the massive San Francisco North map expansion.
The goal over the next 60 days is to push every major gameplay system far beyond what existed ever before.
You can catch up on the latest CERC HQ below if you want to see the full breakdown for yourself:
[dynamiclink href="https://youtu.be/NC6z4-1UEB0"]
The Next 60 Days
Over the next 30 to 60 days, the focus is pushing every major gameplay system forward beyond what existed before in the original build.
Civilian Evacuation polish and bug fixing
Formation AI improvements
Infected intelligence improvements
New infected variants
Lieutenants and late-game infected progression
Leviathan progression
Operator improvements
San Francisco North expansion work
RTS control improvements
Save/load and multiplayer stability improvements
Civilian Evacuation Progress
The evacuation system has reached a major gameplay milestone. Players can now complete the full civilian rescue loop from intake to evacuation, with supporting systems now coming online around it.
Functional intake processing
Evacuation buses
Infection scanning upgrades
Doctrine progression
Direct civilian movement into evacuation zones
Upgrades to streamline civilian processing
Options to skip holding cells
Improved evacuation efficiency as your operation grows
Infected Rework
The infected are also receiving a major pass as part of this phase of development. Infection spread has been rebalanced, infected structure construction is now visible before activation, and late-game pressure is being tuned to reduce the frustrating “whack-a-mole” feeling players were running into. Endless Horde Mode is also available as a custom option for players who want the infection to keep spreading forever.
What Comes Next
The next major push is about taking the systems now coming online and making them stronger, smarter, and more stable. Expect continued work on formation AI, infected behavior, new infected threats, Operator improvements, San Francisco North, evacuation polish, and the broader late-game progression loop. As always, Experimental builds may contain rough edges, bugs, and unfinished content. Player reports are extremely helpful as these systems continue moving toward the default branch.
🎙️ 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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