Cepheus Protocol HQ

Episode Summary:This week’s update covers major progress across three core fronts: Legacy triage, the ongoing Rebuild, and the fast-approaching launch of Pandemic mode. Legacy Triage:Work is wrapping up on the legacy version, which remains on the default branch for now. The devs focused on fixing a final batch of high-impact bugs, including issues with civilian evacuation, vehicle behavior, group...

After a week off, the team speed-runs a big progress dump—starting with a community poll that overwhelmingly pushed pandemic mode to the top of the priority list. The roadmap gets reshuffled accordingly, and work shifts into porting/staging pandemic maps while keeping the current build playable. The main showcase is a new hub-style UI : a redesigned main menu with switchable CCTV camera feeds acro...

This episode is a deep dive into the team’s full-court press on UI improvements as they wrap up Phase One. From modernizing legacy features to implementing completely new systems, the devs walk through key updates like skinned icons, enhanced targeting lines, customizable visual options, and range indicators. They show off updated loading screens, new ROE behavior, unit selection improvements, and...

This update is all about getting Phase One over the finish line: a major UI rebuild, gameplay usability fixes, and a clear pivot back to the main mode based on community voting. The team spent most of the week redrawing and implementing the new RTS interface—reframing the layout, centralizing information into a details panel (instead of world popups), improving group controls, adding night vision,...

This week’s deep-dive centers on finalizing operator functionality and polishing key systems ahead of Phase 2. The team details major operator upgrades including dynamic ability loadouts, construction and healing tools, and early tests of multi-tiered progression. Recoil systems and UI elements got refined, while feedback from rapid-fire playtests led to a major XP rebalance. The RTS/TPS hybrid ga...

This episode dives deep into a massive weekly update, spotlighting the evolution of the Operator system and a brutal new horde mode overhaul. The team showcases Alcatraz hub progress, the growing arsenal of weapon attachments, and how Operator customization now ties directly into RTS and TPS gameplay. We hear firsthand feedback from playtesters on new abilities, squad loadouts, and the changing me...

This episode dives deep into the latest co-op build update following the public Steam release, highlighting player feedback and major development milestones. The team unveils a fully functioning server browser with admin tools, a kick/ban system, and password-protected lobbies. A revamped operator progression system lets players build custom heroes with distinct loadouts, level them up, and assign...

The team goes deep on the rollout of the new co-op test build, highlighting the extensive customization coming to operators—including visual presets, weapon mods, XP-based progression, and squad management systems. They explain how these player-created commanders function as both third-person shooters (TPS) and RTS heroes, persistent across game modes. The episode also outlines next week's goa...

This episode dives deep into the final push for Phase One as the team locks in core systems and prepares for public testing. Major progress has been made across the board, with a focus on fleshing out the Operator role—including revamped hipfire, parachuting, third-person camera, and a new melee combat system inspired by World War Z . The ability system now supports flashbangs, XP-boost passives,...

This week’s update dives into sweeping changes across development, from network optimization to major environment redesigns. Robert and Efron walk us through progress on the Alcatraz hub—intended as the game’s central mission launch zone—and an ambitious new Monterey Bay map built to replace the current horde layout. Efron details his intricate work on city blocks, enemy spawn zones, and environme...

In this densely packed developer podcast, the team walks through a sweeping set of updates aimed at transforming co-op and horde gameplay into a dynamic, scalable experience. Efrain reveals his shift from polishing Alcatraz to leading development on a new horde map set in a reimagined Half Moon Bay—designed for verticality, multiple infiltration paths, and high replay value. He outlines design dec...

This developer podcast dives into the latest playtest of the revamped horde mode map and systems. Efron kicks things off with an update on Alcatraz, highlighting UV mapping progress, set dressing, and a versatile new procedural stairway tool in Blender. As the map nears completion, attention shifts to a major breakthrough: a reimagined gate system designed to finally fix long-standing pathfinding...

In this milestone-packed dev update, the team hits a major co-op breakthrough: players can now independently host and play sessions without developer hand-holding. With a new Discord channel guiding structured feedback and an engaged Patreon community stress-testing the builds, development enters a new phase of collaborative iteration. The episode dives deep into recent technical accomplishments,...

This episode dives deep into the latest playtest for the upcoming co-op rebuild, focusing on mechanical overhauls, balance tuning, and the roadmap to Phase Two. The team discusses recent improvements in playtest stability, including crash reductions and operator weapon balancing, especially recoil refinements that radically improve gameplay feel. Michael explains the legacy baggage around attachme...

In this special episode, the team dives deep into the first hands-on multiplayer test of the upcoming co-op mode. After a long wait, the crew finally explores dynamic gameplay systems that fuse RTS and operator-based action. They walk through the Alcatraz test map, reliving a moment that brought an Australian dev to tears and explaining how synchronized command and combat are taking shape. Real-ti...

In this unscripted, bug-squashing marathon, the dev team pulls back the curtain on the gritty process of real-time game development. With the game’s building system under scrutiny and multiplayer scaling pushed to its limits, they dive deep into player feedback, crash logs, and moment-to-moment patchwork during chaotic co-op sessions. From latency challenges for international players to implementi...

In this episode, the team dives deep into the development of the Alcatraz map, now nearly complete with detailed structures and custom collisions tailored for future RTS gameplay. Efrain walks through the meticulous process of refining textures, adding guard towers, and implementing high-precision UCX collisions to prevent navigation glitches and enable features like shooting through windows. The...

In this content-rich developer podcast, Chris announces the completion of his latest novel—an intense, survivalist follow-up to Pierce’s narrative that shifts focus to Natalie, an ex-military character navigating the outbreak in a crumbling world. The team dives into how these novels lay the narrative foundation for the campaign mode, providing nuanced perspectives that deepen player immersion. Ro...

This week's update dives deep into the evolving tech and art driving the Alcatraz map and RTS systems. Efron continues refining the 3D environment with intricate details like stairways, storm drains, and the iconic water tower—painstakingly modeled and remade multiple times to match its real-world counterpart. He also tackled modular assets like doors, figurines, and even the island bookstore,...

This episode is packed with major progress updates across the board. The team unveils overhauled turret designs with distinct combat roles, a fully reworked active denial system, and upgrades to the RTS-TPS hybrid gameplay—letting players seamlessly jump between top-down command and boots-on-the-ground action. They also showcase improvements to weapon customization, operator switching, day-night s...

AI combat has improved significantly since last week’s podcast. Units now react faster, fire in controlled bursts, and use suppressive fire more effectively, eliminating hesitation in engagements. SOCs (Strategic Offensive Constructs) have also been refined, with upgrades now functioning more smoothly. Plus, updates on multiplayer replication, UI improvements, and the final steps before playtestin...

This week, the team digs into the nitty-gritty of getting co-op and horde mode running smoothly. They tackle multiplayer bugs, AI quirks, and synchronization issues while stress-testing early playtest maps. The Alcatraz environment gets a major facelift with new structures, textures, and foliage, bringing it closer to completion. Turret redesigns move forward, focusing on making them deployable en...

This episode dives into major development updates, covering UI improvements, base building mechanics, and co-op multiplayer progress. The team showcases a revamped build system with snapping structures, buildable gates, and AI-assisted construction, allowing for creative and strategic base setups. UI refinements bring streamlined controls and customizable options for players. Multiplayer replicati...

This episode dives into the major improvements to the wall-building system, focusing on AI-driven enhancements that make base construction smoother and more intuitive. Engineers now intelligently detect nearby structures in progress, automatically assisting with walls, gates, and defensive placements based on a dynamic task-scanning system. A new logic system prevents units from getting stuck on t...

In this episode, the team dives into major improvements to AI movement and base-building mechanics. They discuss refining formation logic to minimize erratic behavior, optimizing fallback positions, and preventing units from breaking apart under pressure. The conversation also covers updates to the building system, including a more dynamic construction queue, smarter engineer pathfinding, and upco...