November Development Update
The release of Phoenix Point is just over a week away! All departments at Snapshot are in full swing to make sure the delivery is as smooth as possible. We want everyone to be able to dive into the full release on December 3.
Now that the final research options and story mission content has been added, most of the work we’re doing now is balancing, polishing and bug-fixing, along with finalizing the cinematics, and getting the last few pieces of recorded dialogue added.
Balancing
We’ve been going through feedback from our forums, in-game reporting tool and Discord server, and have been making gameplay tweaks based on what the players have been telling us.
A few of these include:
A complete rework of faction weapon stats. Weapons from the three factions will feel more like an upgrade than just a slight variation, and weapons that require research to acquire will be much more powerful.
A reduction in the frequency of Haven attacks. This will make it easier to explore without having to return to defend Havens too often. Havens can still get attacked more frequently if they’re in the operating range of multiple Pandoran nests and lairs, so you will still have to keep them protected.
Stamina loss based on mission length. In Backer Build 5, soldiers lost 10 points of stamina after every mission, eventually requiring them to return to base to rest. We wanted to find a way to reward players for pushing forward in missions, without being a punishment for those who like to take their time. Now, soldiers lose 1 point of stamina for every turn the mission takes, but can still only lose a maximum of 10 per mission. If your squad is involved in a quick fight, they’re not going to be as tired.
Aircraft now have pathfinding and can automatically plot refuelling waypoints on their way to the destination, which removes the need for the player to leapfrog between points of interest.
The fumble mechanic has been limited to melee weapons - so there will no longer be a chance of wasting an action on trying to fire a ranged weapon which fumbles (you can still miss though).
Missile and launcher based weapons now have some inaccuracy, so they’re less overpowered. If you use them near your own squad you run the risk of hitting friendlies. Grenades haven’t been affected by this change.
Release and Delivery Information
Phoenix Point will be releasing on Tuesday, December 3rd at 11 am Pacific Time (7 pm GMT).
For those who purchased directly via the Epic Games Store, your copy of the game will unlock automatically on release. If you purchased a season pass from our website, you will be able to redeem that code on your Epic Games Store account.
For those who backed on Fig.co, CrowdOx or directly on our web-store (Xsolla), you will receive your key(s) via email next week. These will be redeemable via your Epic Games Store account. This is a separate key from the one used to activate any Backer Builds. If you’ve purchased a season pass from our website, you will be able to redeem that key after redeeming the full game key.
Each key will be for the specific version of Phoenix Point that you originally purchased and will also unlock any other digital rewards associated with it. Keep this in mind if you purchased multiple copies of different packages, as each key will have different entitlements.
If you backed or pre-ordered Phoenix Point before March 12th 2019, you qualify for a free season pass, which will be sent to you with your game key. Again, you will need to redeem the game key first, before the season pass.
Microsoft Game Pass. Phoenix Point will also be available to play on Microsoft Game Pass on Windows 10 for those with the appropriate subscription. We are aiming for this release to happen simultaneously with the Epic Games Store release, but the exact timing depends on certification with Microsoft and is therefore out of our control.
Physical Goods. For those of you who ordered any of our early backer tiers with physical collectables (or who ordered such collectibles as separate add-on items), they will be dispatched in early 2020. By now, you should have received and completed your backer survey via email, and provided us with your shipping information. If your address changes before delivery, please let us know by email (contact@snapshotgames.com) as soon as possible.
Emails containing your keys will come from contact@snapshotgames.com Please add this email address to your white list to ensure that keys do not go to your spam or junk folders. Gmail users should particularly check their “promotions” folder before contacting us.
When we start to send the keys out, we will make announcements in all of the usual places, so please be sure to follow us on at least one of the following:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Phoenix_Point/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixPointGame/
Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/phoenixpoint/
The Snapshot Games forums: https://forums.snapshotgames.com/
Our Discord server: https://discord.gg/phoenixpoint
Faction Trailers
Over the last three weeks, we have been uploading trailers introducing the different in-game factions on our YouTube channel. If you haven’t already seen them, you can watch them here:
Writing Contest
We have here the final two runners-up in the Phoenix Point writing competition. We’ll be revealing the winning entry in our next update, which will come just before the launch of the game:
Presenting:
Hope Dies Last - by Jude Reid
Last Entry - by Michael O’Neal
Once again, we want to extend our sincerest thanks to all of our backers, customers and fans who have been along with us for this journey. It’s been one hell of a ride, but it doesn’t end here. You can be sure that, post launch, we will be working continually to make Phoenix Point even better. We already have plans and ideas for exciting new content which we will be working on and releasing throughout 2020, but please continue to give us your feedback, as well.
It’s almost time to ship out. We’ll meet you at Phoenix Point.