V1.6.0

This update sees the release of two DLC packs: the Rise of the Valkyrie Pack available to Season Pass holders or separately for purchase, and the Team Fortress 2: Pyro pack, which is a free download for ALL players - the team have really enjoyed dabbling in the Team Fortress universe, and we hope you enjoy this characterful addition to Evil Genius 2's line-up!

Alongside these content packs we have of course continued to focus on quality-of-life improvements and key areas of community feedback, and while many of these have their own entry in the patch notes below, there are a few higher-level areas we'd like to call out here.

There has been a clear and consistent call to make your Cover Operation a meaningful secondary source of income, and with this update you should see a marked increase to the Gold you can make when setting your casino items to "Scam Tourists". With this update, those of you who want to place greater emphasis on money making opportunities within your Cover Operation should find yourselves able to do so, and we'll continue to monitor this change in the weeks ahead

In the June update we significantly increased the impact of Decor items across the board, but we weren't satisfied with the messaging of these effects, so we've made additional changes here. Each Decor item, where applicable, now displays its area of effect in a solid colour that matches the stat that it affects: Pink for Vitality, Yellow for Smarts, Green for Morale. Items within Decor's area of effect will also become tinted with the colour of the relevant stat, clarifying which Decor item is active. A small number of Decor Items have had their boost effect modified to increase their utility, and those are called out in the specific patch notes below.

Many Objectives require the completion of narrative Research, and some of you have got in touch to ask for a way to avoid losing progress when switching between Research Projects. With this update you can do exactly that, switching between Research Projects with a minimum of fuss while retaining progress made, as well as adding the option to suspend Research entirely if you want your Science minions to focus on the Control Room for a while, for example. Of course, you can still cancel a Research Project entirely if you just need the Gold back in a pinch.

• Henchmen have been rebalanced, with the intent of more significantly differentiating their effectiveness based on their type:
• Deception henchmen now roam the Cover Operation, dealing high Harass damage allows them to deter Agents and Tourists without initiating combat, where their effectiveness is weaker.
• Muscle henchmen have had a rebalance, making them less effective in the Cover Operation but more obviously tuned for direct combat.
• Science henchmen now sit somewhere in the middle, with average combat and Cover Operation effectiveness making way for their boosted, more outlandish abilities.
• Each Henchman's Stats now better reflect their specialisation.

Agents and Super Agents have received additional, though less significant balance adjustments, and Crime Lords should pose more of a challenge across the board.

We're aware of a small number of players continuing to encounter problems when playing Evil Genius 2 with wireless headphones - please get in touch with our Customer Support team if you're one of them, so we can track down the root of the problem.

As always, thanks for your continued support of Evil Genius 2.

The Evil Genius 2 Development Team

General

• Super Serum VFX has been modified to remove an undesirable flickering effect.
• The "Share Game Information" options setting is correctly preserved.
• The Build menu can be consistently accessed after selecting a Decor or Lair Item during the Tutorial.
• Added an option to Accessibility settings to reduce the risk of burn-in when playing Evil Genius 2 for extended periods on certain OLED displays.
• Tooltips added for FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 in Graphics Options.
• "Select All" option added to the DLC select screen.
• Added an option to remove individual key bindings through the "Keyboard & Mouse Controls" menu.
• Agents that arrive during specific narrative Objectives will correctly leave the Lair when their Resolve is reduced to zero.
• Agents being Escorted past a Paywall Trap will no longer cause the Trap to briefly activate.
• Animations on the Objective Tracker have been reduced for small increments of Objective progress.
• The completion audio for Objectives and Research Projects will no longer repeat under unusual circumstances.
• Updated IRIS alert when Rogues are stealing Loot items.
• Pinball Bumper musical notes are correctly previewed while the game is paused, and the sound effects for these notes has been improved.
• The same Pinball Bumper musical note can be previewed multiple times.
• Updated sound effects for Stun Guns and Stun Rifles.
• The "Pyromaniac" trait correctly gives minions a small chance to set opponents on fire during combat.
• The level of Agents accompanying a Super Agent is displayed correctly when they are imprisoned in a Holding Cell.
• Cursor added to indicate an area cannot be marked for Security Zones.
• Narrative characters will correctly display a Distract overhead icon when Tagged for Distract after escaping a Holding Cell.
• The camera can no longer pass through the second level of a Doomsday Device on the "Montañas Gemelas" Island Lair.
• In new games, characters will no longer clip through folding chairs on the beach level of an Island Lair.
• The number of minions that will be auto-hired or bought is now displayed when viewing Workers in the Minion Training screen.
• Locked Training Items are no longer displayed when changing tab in the Minion Training screen.
• The HUD correctly displays when Research has been manually paused.
• Information panels for Rooms display correctly when navigating back to the Room tab.
• The Character Selection menu closes correctly when a hotkey is used to select a character while this menu is open.
• Research Project icons have been corrected in the Side Panels of the Research menu.
• The confirmation pop-up when using a gamepad to collect Optional Objective Rewards has been removed.
• The selected Side Story is correctly displayed after navigating to another tab of the Objectives screen, then back again.
• Information for the Martial Artist no longer unlocks in the Rogues' Gallery after unlocking the Mercenary minion type.
• An input prompt has been added for returning to the list when viewing a completed Objective.
• The cursor control keys can be used to correctly navigate the Minion Manager list.
• Saves can now be correctly deleted when using a gamepad.
• The menu bar is more easily accessible following a Game Over when playing with a gamepad.
• Locked Items are correctly highlighted in the Build Menu when using a gamepad.
• Hidden Build Menu buttons are no longer selectable during Talking Heads.
• It is no longer possible to navigate away from the Benchmark results screen by selecting hidden buttons.
• Text and localisation improvements

Achievements

• Agent Steele can be captured during the Side Story, "The Melting Point Of Steele" to earn the Achievement, "Can't Be Fooled".

Campaigns

• Characters who have been turned to Gold statues no longer become unselectable in unusual circumstances during Maximilian's campaign.
• Tamara Krast can no longer be Tagged for Kill or Distract during Maximilian's campaign Objective, "Gold Fingers, And Toes, And...Well, Everything".
• Listening Devices will be placed correctly by Agents in Maximilian's campaign Objective, "Hostile Takeover".
• Removed Listening Devices will consistently count toward progress in Maximilian's campaign Objective, "Hostile Takeover".
• Golden Statues can no longer be placed in external locations during Maximilian's campaign.
• Notable Engineers will no longer Repair standard Lair Items during Maximilian's campaign Objective, "M.I.D.A.S. Touch".
• Kidnapped Scientists are attributed to the correct Force of Justice during Maximilian's campaign Objective, "If You Build It, They Will Scream".
• V.O.I.D. Worshippers no longer have their names overwritten, and will be assigned jobs correctly during Zalika's campaign.
• Firing V.O.I.D. with a completed Research Tree will result in a reward of Gold being added to the Aftermath Scheme, with more Gold available if the device is fired at Level 2 or 3 during Zalika's campaign.
• Offscreen indicators display correctly when viewing a different floor from the required items during Zalika's campaign Objective, "Damage Control".
• "Random Sample" Schemes now require only a Level 1 Criminal Network in Zalika's campaign Objective, "Barely Living Proof".
• Agent infiltration positions have been updated during Zalika's campaign Objective, "Damage Control".
• P.E.A.C.E. Agents are attributed to the correct Force of Justice during Red Ivan's campaign Objective, "P.E.A.C.E. Corpse".
• Peacekeeper Soldiers can no longer be Tagged for Distract during Emma's campaign Objective, "Tourist Season".
• Rewards are correctly displayed for the "Uncover Agents" Research Project in Emma's campaign Objective, "Spectres".
• Confirmation pop-up added when returning to the Title Screen from the Credits at the end of a campaign.
• The "New Main Objective Available" IRIS alert no longer plays at the beginning of the credits after completing a Campaign.

Side Stories

• Minions no longer move into the air when clearing Gas Clouds on specific areas of the "Montañas Gemelas" Island Lair.
• A S.M.A.S.H. Region must now be Scouted before the Cabal Side Story, "Giving Up The Ghost" to become available.
• Characters will no longer be set alight when escorting Incendio to a Holding Cell during the Side Story, "Unwanted Guests".
• Crime Lords allied with the player can no longer be tagged for Capture.
• Full Metal Jackie can no longer be tagged for Capture in the Side Story, "Up In Arms".
• The Super Bot can no longer be Tagged for Kill in the Side Story, "When You Cut Me, Do I Not Lubricate?".
• Schemes to invite Critics to the Lair now spawn in a broader variety of Regions in the Side Story, "Fugu State".
• Additional guidance arrows added to the Side Story, "Learn The Ways Of the Technician".
• Schemes referencing the Flame of Prometheus no longer spawn during the Side Story, "What's Mine Is Mine".
• The Threat Scheme, "Hot To Trot" now displays correct VFX during the Side Story, "The World Is Hot Enough".
• The Threat Scheme "Slippery Slope" displays the correct VFX during Side Story, "Imbalance of Power".
• Arms Dealer Goons display the correct job name when demonstrating weapons during the Side Story, "Heavy Metal Queen".
• Medical Investigators are correctly attributed to the S.M.A.S.H. Force of Justice in the Side Story, "King Of The Fountain".

Geniuses

• Maximilian's "Train Faster" Ability no longer affects minions outside of his visible aura.
• Emma's "Plotter" Ability now displays correct VFX when used on Espectro's Clone.

Henchmen

• IRIS will correctly disable her Security Network Ability if she enters a wounded state while this Ability is active.
• The Ability duration bar is displayed appropriately for all Henchman abilities.

World Map

• World Map Regions can now be navigated by using the Q and E keys on a keyboard, or by using the bumpers on a gamepad. Button prompts have been added to Region Side Panels to indicate this.
• The Lockdown alert indicator is no longer displayed in Regions that have not been Scouted.
• Heat bar animations now display correctly at all levels, including when a Region is in Lockdown.
• Heat gain for Schemes in S.A.B.R.E. Regions with a Level 4 Criminal Network have been brought in line with other Force of Justice Regions.

Items

• Doors display correctly as open or closed at greater camera distances.
• The Agent Disguise Simulator is now displayed correctly at all camera distances.
• The "R.A.Y.G.U.N." VFX will consistently display during longer Interrogations.
• Investigator Agents will correctly gain Suspicion after encountering the R.A.Y.G.U.N. or Induction Chair items.
• Loot items which are immune to Durability damage will no longer be marked for Repair.
• The Melee Trainer Lair Item is correctly affected by the Hubbard Slice and Sands of Time Loot items.
• The Broken Time Machine now correctly applies traits to Agents in addition to minions.
• Advanced Guard Posts can now have their Power disabled.
• The Loot items, "No. 2 Memorial", "Mr. Scruffles", and "John Steele's Defeat" can no longer have their Power disabled.
• Text displayed in the Side Panel of the "Secure Holding Cell" and "Unpleasant Holding Cell" no longer overlaps.
• Character position markers are no longer misaligned when selected while using the R.A.Y.G.U.N. Lair Item.
• Henchmen will play their bark correctly when ordered to interact with the Cabal Induction Chair.
• The "Egg Pod" Infirmary Decor Item now gives a boost to Restore Vitality jobs.
• The "Brain Hologram" Laboratory Decor Item now reduces Smarts decay.
• The "Food Disposal" and "Condiments" Mess Hall Decor Items now give a boost to Restore Smarts jobs.