[h2]Intro[/h2] Hello there, This patch took a bit longer than anticipated, and I apologize for that. Apart from the bug fixes, it addresses two major issues that players (understandably) have with the game: [olist] [*] The story mode is too hard. [*] The game forces players to play the story before letting them play endless mode. [/olist] Both these issues are based on decisions I made that haven't been fully thought through. I hope I'm rectifying them with this patch. Otherwise please let me know below or via in game feedback. [h2]Coming soon[/h2] I'll try to add this coming soon section to the patch notes from now on so that you know what you can expect from the patch after this one. The next patch will include a few more bug fixes but will mostly be focused on optimizing the performance. Now off to the actual patch notes: [h2]Features & other changes[/h2] A new main menu with the following options: [list] [*] Start/continue the story, and experience all levels in story mode one after the other. [*] Enter HOME, where you can replay the levels you have already completed in story and endless mode, with all the gear you have unlocked in story mode. [*] Enter HOME with everything unlocked and all levels available. If you have played the demo, are familiar with the games concepts and don’t care about the story, this option is for you. [*] Play the TUTORIAL. This tutorial was only included in the demo version of the game before, but has now been added to the full game, so that players who want to skip the story can learn all the basic game mechanics in a quick way. [/list] You can go back into the main menu at any stage from the “Escape” menu. The main menu is only available in the full version of the game. The demo sends you straight into HOME. Added duffel bags full of cash to the range in HOME, which spawn cash pickups when shot. You can use this to get a feel of the pickup range of cash bullets and grenades, and also to get money to try out other equipment like sticky grenades or hologram decoys. When you reload while having a few Smart Rounds left, the money for these remaining rounds is now returned to you. Increased the rate at which the story text reveals if you press any key. It is now possible to rapidly build the same object (e.g. barricades or mines) by keeping the mouse button pressed. In endless mode, the maximum wave number is no longer shown as “99”, but as “–“. The value of “99” has misled some players into believing that it’s possible to reach wave 99, and that wave 99 is the final wave in endless mode. [h2]Balancing[/h2] Cash drops in story mode are increased by 25%. Story mode is supposed to introduce players to the game and was too hard / did not drop enough money. I hope this is more enjoyable now, otherwise please let me know. On top of that, also changed the cash amounts in story and endless mode based on difficulty: [list] [*] Easy: Increased cash drops a lot [*] Normal: Increased cash drops a little [*] Hard: Decreased cash drops a little [*] Ultra: Decreased cash drops a little more [/list] Changed the ATM’s base conversion rate and its upgrades: [list] [*] Old: 70% base, 2×15% upgrades for a maximum of 100% conversion rate. [*] New: 80% base, 3×10% upgrades for a maximum of 110% conversion rate. [/list] This means that you can get 10% extra cash if you let an ATM pick up money for you. It also means you can get an extra 10% by dropping your pocket change off at an ATM. But be careful, any cash that you drop at the ATM, that is not picked up by it by the time the combat is over, will evaporate. [h2]Bug & performance fixes[/h2] After a melee attack, the player was stuck in an unintended idle state for a certain time (up to several hundred milliseconds, depending on what gun was equipped). A few fixes to Italian language texts. Many small performance optimizations. While in the settings menu, manually skipping to the next song or switching streamer mode on/off (which also switches to another song) did not fade out the old song until the settings window was closed. SUMMIT: Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t build anything on a particular grid node. BULWARK: Fixed two holes in the level geometry. [i]If you encounter a bug, please report it straight away ingame by pressing F1 and describing the issue. This makes it a lot easier for me to replicate and fix it. If you would like any direct feedback, don't forget to include your email address.[/i]