Section 13 News

Agents,

Today is the day to wave your flashlights and make Section 13 base lit! We are deploying 0.30.0 “Party Up” patch with the contents we shared in the patch notes . We hope that you enjoy this update, which includes a sneak peek of what we’re planning for the official release.

Here’s a brief overview of what’s in the Party Up patch:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Section 13 is also participating in the Spring Sale with a 25% discount, so feel free to enlist your friends as a fellow S2P field agent. It is often dangerous to go alone!

For any feedback and suggestions you have, please let us know via Steam discussion boards or our Discord server. The team continues to work hard on both new and improved content, and your input is crucial to creating the best Section 13 experience we can.

Agent, it’s your time to shine!

- ODS Team

[h3]Patch Schedule[/h3]

• PDT: 12:45 AM, March 13th
• EDT: 3:45 AM, March 13th
• CET: 9:45 AM, March 13th
• ICT: 2:45 PM, March 13th
• KST: 4:45 PM, March 13th

Agents,

For our Agents who have been patiently waiting: multiplayer and Beaker are returning! We are deploying a Ver. 0.30.0 “Party Up” patch to bring new and improved content.

With our official launch in May coming soon, we continue to work on building towards our big day–the day we can share the full Section 13 experience with you! We also continue to review all suggestions and issues you share, in order to make Section 13 enjoyable for everyone. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts via Steam discussion boards or our Discord server!

For the list of changes in this patch, please see below.

[h3]Returning Content[/h3]

• Re-enabled online multiplayer
  
• Please note that, in multiplayer, you will only have access to features you already unlocked in singleplayer. These include Body Mods, Weapon Mods, and characters.
  • Online co-op is back after adjustments to suit the current gameplay loop
  • Multiplayer features can be accessed via the phone booth located at the Command Center
  • Agents can join a room at any given point, instead of only within the first level
  • Friendly fire and limited ammo are toggleable on the mission preparation screen
  • Multiplayer UI has been improved
    • Teammates’ information is shown in the General menu (default hotkey: I)
    • Mission preparation screen displays the online mode effects tooltip
    • You can adjust in-game voice chat volumes for each player in the Esc menu
• Reinstated Agent Beaker
  • Beaker’s active ability has been adjusted to provide a gradual heal over time, instead of a burst heal
  • The potency of her heal is impacted by the number of Agents healed. The more Agents being healed, the less healing each Agent will receive
  • Skill cooldown has also been adjusted for balance
  • Beaker’s passives provide her with faster movement speed, longer HP regain window, and lower max Fear

[h3]New Content/Features[/h3]

• Added 3 new levels
  • Supermax Lab
    • After defeating the Exosuit in the Crucible, you will find yourself delving deeper into the base to find the laboratory where highly confidential–possibly off-the-books–research was conducted
  • Isolation Chamber
    • Beyond the Supermax Lab, you will find quarantined sections created to contain entities that the S2P Corporation has been trying so hard to keep away from the public
  • Location Unknown
    • Agents who venture Section 13 alone may find the entrance into this bonus level presenting itself as a gaping white hole
      
    • The white hole will appear only in singleplayer mode
      
    • Unlike any other area in Section 13 base, this level is habitat to its own set of threats awaiting Agents
• Added new enemies
  • General
    • Patcher
      • Reports say Section 13’s medical staff have fallen victim to the hivemind that overrun the base
    • Elite UN-X Agent
      • Better-trained and better-equipped UN-X operatives have been spotted within Section 13 base
        
  • Level-Specific
    • Sanitation Tunnels
      • Spider
    • Location Unknown
      • Redlight Man
      • Cuddles
      • Mannequin
        
• Added new tactical gear
  • Arc Barrier: Absorbs both physical and psychological damage Agents would have taken
    
  • Portable Ripper: A compact turret that automatically senses and neutralizes threats
    
• Added 25 new types of Synaptic Enhancement
  You can learn full details as you encounter them in-game and check the Synaptic Enhancement Codex. Below are some examples:
  • Valued Customer: Reduces all Credit costs (e.g., SE reroll, weapon mod reroll, Chillax Corner purchase, etc.)
  • Technical Supply: Restores HP whenever you use tactical gear
  • Worker’s Comp: Gain Credit for HP loss
  • Let There Be Light: Soups up your flashlight
  • Employee Lounge: Restores HP when you enter a Safe Room
  • Feather-Light: Negates fall damage
  • Big Bang: Randomly swaps out all currently held Synaptic Enhancements
    
• Added new Body Mod “penalties”
  • Hoarse voice that affects voice chat
  • Visual impairment upon taking damage
    • This replaces Retro Mode, a setting that used to add a pixelated visual filter to the game
  • Increased head size
    
• Added medkit drop points in different levels, especially locations where there is a high chance of prolonged combat
• Added new narrative/lore elements
  • Added VO for some dialogues and barks
  • Added character unlock events
    • New Agents start as Red and unlock other characters by rescuing them in various Restricted Areas on different levels
      
    • Veteran Agents can experience the character unlocks by creating a new save file
  • Added events to the Exosuit fight in the Crucible level
    • You will see a brief dialogue at first encounter with each character, as well as mid-combat barks during the fight
• Added the Overclocked Mode under settings
  • This is a singleplayer-only feature that makes Agents more resistant to enemy attacks, allowing Agents to laser-focus on their mission
  • Overclocked Mode can be toggled under Settings - Gameplay
• Added features to the mainframe computer located in the Command Center
  • Added the Synaptic Enhancement Codex
  • Added more videos to the repertoire of clips showing on the mainframe’s screen

[h3]Changes/Improvements[/h3]

• Adjusted Arc Cannon weapon perks
  • Consolidated the dual arc weapon perk into the Beam Splitter weapon perk
• Adjusted some Synaptic Enhancement effects
  • Intense Fear is now split into 3 tiers, instead of 2
  • Hardbody effects changed to reduced damage taken, instead of providing additional Max HP
    
• Polished elemental effects
  • Changed the Electric Shock effect to have a chance to briefly stun enemies, instead of increasing the chance to take critical hits
  • Streamlined the 2 tiers of elemental effects: now weapons come with tier 1 elemental effects, which can be boosted to tier 2 with Synaptic Enhancement
  • Quick overview of different elements:
    • Burn: Damages enemies over time
    • Acid: Damages and slows enemies over time
    • Freeze: Drastically slows enemies
    • Electric Shock: Has a chance to briefly stun enemies
• Weapon Mod reroll cost now increases with each reroll at the same station, in a similar fashion as rerolling Synaptic Enhancements
  
• Applied different max carriable count for different tactical gear
  • Max 3: Hologram Decoys and Portable Rippers
  • Max 5: Claymores and Arc Barriers
  • Max 10: Frag Grenades, Stun Grenades, Hot Shots, and Cold Brew
  • Max 20: Meteolights
  • This information can also be found in the Inventory menu, the Armory, and the item tooltips
• UI improvements
  • An item bundle’s stack count (e.g., a single bundle containing Meteolight x3) now display in the item tooltip before picking it up
    
  • Surveillance Reports (the session results screen) now list detailed information
  • Added the ability to open the Esc menu within the tutorial, which also allows skipping the tutorial entirely
  • Adjusted speech bubbles above characters to be better visible
• Miscellaneous improvements
  • Rebalanced some levels
  • Optimized the game for better performance
  • Other various improvements and adjustments

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Addressed community-reported issues
  • Addressed the corner where you could get stuck in the Office level’s Restricted Area
  • Adjusted text to better indicate when certain weapon perks and Synaptic Enhancements do not stack
• Fixed the issue where the loading screen’s splash art was missing for the Sanitation Tunnels
• Fixed issues with flame traps
• Fixed other miscellaneous bugs/errors

Please note that if you are playing at this time, your game will not be interrupted. You will be prompted to download the patch the next time you open Section 13. For the best gameplay experience, we recommend installing the update as soon as possible.


- ODS Team

Agents,

We have a time-sensitive mission for you: to preview the returning co-op mode and report back how smooth the experience is!

[h3]Preview Schedule[/h3]
The mission starts now and ends in 36 hours. To share the time in our usual time zones:

• PDT: March 11 10AM - March 12 10PM
• EDT: March 11 1PM - March 13 1AM
• CET: March 11 6PM - March 13 6AM
• ICT: March 12 12AM - March 13 12PM
• KST: March 12 2AM - March 13 2PM

[h3]Preview Branch Instructions[/h3]
You can access the co-op preview by using the following private beta code: section13beta

Here are instructions to unlock the co-op preview branch:

1. Right-click Section 13 in your library and go to “Properties…”
   
2. Go to the “Betas” tab, type the branch access code ("section13beta") under “Private Betas”, press the “Check Code” button, and then the "Opt into" button
   
3. Make sure the "Beta Participation" menu's dropdown says "beta_test" branch
   
4. Closing the window will prompt the preview client to download; if it doesn't automatically, trigger the update manually
5. Once the download ends, check for the "beta_test" version and launch the game
   

[h3]Multiplayer Instructions[/h3]
* Please note that, in multiplayer, you will only have access to features you already unlocked in singleplayer. These include Body Mods, Weapon Mods, and characters.

1. Go to the phone booth in the Command Center
2. Create a room
3. Wait for more Agents, or invite your friends using the Steam overlay (Shift + Tab)
4. Gather at Section 13’s gate to trigger the mission preparation screen. If you are joining, ready up for the host to start the mission. If you’re the host, start the mission when everyone is ready.
5. Enjoy!

[h3]Co-Op Mode Feedback[/h3]
Please share how smooth your co-op experience was in this survey! For all other feedback, please share via our Steam discussion boards and Discord.

See you down in Section 13!


- ODS Team

DISCORD | X/TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | TWITCH

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2111870/

[Updated on 3/10 PT: Added the start date]
Agents,

We know that many Agents are waiting for co-op to return–and it is coming soon!

As we prepare for the March patch featuring the updated multiplayer experience, we would like to invite our Agents to a preview of the co-op mode, sometime next week. This preview will focus on ensuring a seamless peer-to-peer connection, and we will be asking about how smooth the experience is. If any issues arise, we will be addressing them as quickly as possible.

We will be starting our 36-hour co-op preview at:

• PDT: March 11 10AM
• EDT: March 11 1PM
• CET: March 11 6PM
• ICT: March 12 12AM
• KST: March 12 2AM

Please stay tuned for instructions to come when the preview starts!



- ODS Team

Hello, this is Yeongseok Heo, a designer on this project.

I’m here to introduce the content that will be revealed in the March patch.

[h3]New Synaptics[/h3]
The development team wants players to face new experiences and choices in every session. To reflect this intent, we’ve added around 20 new Synaptics.

Previously, most choices in the Synaptic pool focused on revival abilities and firepower, leading to relatively similar selections for each session. This time, we’ve focused on adding Synaptics beyond just firepower and revival to diversify the gameplay.

You’ll be able to check the detailed effects of each Synaptic in the Synaptics Codex after the patch is released. Here are some of the new types:

Health Recovery & Toughness Synaptics
While they won’t make you feel completely invincible (since this is a shooter, after all), they will help you to safely clear the game.


Rapid-Fire Support Synaptics
Perfect for weapons that fire a large amount of ammo, such as the Arc Cannon or Minigun.


S2P Employee Benefits Synaptics
Designed to assist you while exploring the ruined company facilities.


“Wait… What?” Synaptics
Wildcard power-ups that will help to boost players’ confidence.

We’ve also added several others and are currently testing them rigorously, so stay tuned!

[h3]New Maps Added[/h3]
A New Level You Might Stumble Upon
Depending on your luck, you might find yourself dropping into a freaky new map.



The Journey to the End
A challenging map that comes after the Exosuit stage.



[h3]Welcome Back, Beaker![/h3]
Everyone’s favorite healer, Beaker, has returned!


Beaker retains the healing active skill but now has a new passive skill for faster movement. However, be careful, as Beaker can panic easily.

When I play as Beaker, I usually focus on boosting her firepower, especially since it’s hard for her to match the burst damage of Red or Boy Scout. Alternatively, you can focus on stacking her recovery and toughness in hopes of achieving an extremely stable and hard-to-kill build.

[h3]Electric Shock Overhaul[/h3]
Weapons that deal electric damage now have a chance to stun enemies periodically, instead of that status’s previous effect (increased crit chance). It’s a great option for safer gameplay. And, personally, since I’m a coward, I always pick electric mods whenever they appear.

[h2]And on Multiplayer…[/h2]
Multiplayer, which many of you have been eagerly waiting for, will finally be returning soon! We’re rigorously testing and fine-tuning to ensure a better experience, so please hang in there just a little longer.

[h3]Narrative[/h3]
For those who enjoy the story, we’ve added a few small bits of narrative to the single-player mode, specifically around recruiting new characters.


Red isn’t pointing a gun at his face. She’s just, uh, shining a light.

[h3]Where in the world is Jaeeun Park?[/h3]
Our director, Jaeeun Park, is too busy to write this dev log, so I took over!

Here’s his daily schedule:

• Morning – Sighing while revising maps
• Before Lunch – Feeling grumpy while he asks teammates to get something done
• Afternoon – Multiplayer testing
• Night – Late-night bug-fixing

As you can see, he barely has a moment to breathe. Hopefully, once the game launches, he’ll finally be able to “Rest in Peace”. Metaphorically.