THE IMPOUND UPDATE

Welcome to The Impound Update. This is a content update for Brigador Killers that adds two new Brigador kill missions to the game along with other challenges, while at the same time lowering the requirements to access most of the content.

The single campaign of the previous version of the game has been removed and instead split into STORY and FREELANCE. If the player has an existing save from the previous version of Brigador Killers, the contents of the ARMORY should migrate over to FREELANCE automatically.

STORY remains largely unchanged and no new story missions have been added – this change was done so that if players wish to replay through story content again, it can be reset without taking away everything else that previously came after.

The FREELANCE campaign is the post-narrative segment from before, split off into its own separate campaign. There are two big changes to note: 

• Angel Base has been retired for the time being, while all 20+ freelance missions can be accessed at once from the garage. That means if the player wants to go straight to the Sinkhole or Posadochny Bend, they can do so without having to clear preceding missions.
• The carmine and cinderblock rigs are also unlocked from the start along with all gantry pads (some players may not have all pads unlocked depending on prior progress – the six extra parking spots can still be purchased from the FABRICATOR in exchange for parts).

More missions have been added, which we'll let players discover for themselves (or scroll down to read the spoilers). In addition, the non-hostile Night Market map has been added – go here after meeting certain merchants in other levels and they will appear here to sell you their wares.

Lastly the reason for the name of this update is the addition of the Impound Lot. If a player enters a level with a vehicle and either leaves that vehicle behind or dies during the mission, their vehicle (and its inventory) will be impounded. The player can check what's currently in the lot via the impound telephone in the garage next to the central mission selector. Vehicles will only remain impounded for ten mission deployments, and after ten mission deployments the vehicle(s) will be gone for good. The impound lot requires a fee to enter, so don't forget to bring some credits.

A detailed list of the changes follows.

Gameplay

• Single campaign removed and instead split into STORY and FREELANCE. STORY has no bearing on FREELANCE. If a player already has an existing save prior to this update, their post-narrative garage progress should carry over. All missions as well as the cinderblock and carmine rigs are immediately unlocked by default.
• Impound Lot added to FREELANCE – vehicles left behind in a mission will be impounded and can be reclaimed for a fee.
• New merchants added for heavy weapons, heavy ammo, and vehicles, while existing merchants have been given slight revisions. Go and visit merchants encountered during FREELANCE missions at the Night Market. Merchants will also buy anything they sell, except for the vehicle merchant.
• FABRICATOR recipe list expanded to include the Juke, Security Truck, Party Van, Fork and many other vehicles and powersuits.
• Destruction effects added for various minis.
• Glass destruction effects added to some vehicles like the OvO and props like office buildings.
• Heights have been tweaked on some props.
• Crate spawns now have lights attached.
• Magazine reload ammo duplication bug fixed.
• Ammo duplication bug when getting out of vehicle fixed.
• Double damage effects when hitting a unit fixed.

Weapons

• Weapon descriptions indicate their Pierce Class and Carry Class on examine. Pierce Class indicates roughly how effective the weapon is against armor, while Carry Class indicates the weight. Weapons that are 1-2 pips in Carry Class can be carried by any loadout, while anything 3 pips or higher requires a new rig or a vehicle mount.
• Bodec magnetic pistol now available for sale from your nearest Gustaf (also available in weapon crates).
• Eddy's Explosive Emporium has expanded with the Sow Launcher – a disposable mortar (also available in weapon crates).
• Revised weapon spawns on weapon crates: Wallflower, Costigan, Microkinetic Laser, Cello, Zweenie, Rausch, 85mm HEAT, Gollop, Talkback & Kalastaja will now appear in crates appropriate for their tier.
• Weapon effects updated for thermobaric and concussion grenade, and the flash grenade has been given an impact sound.
• 50mm mortar flight aggro radius reduced, while damage and AOE on 50mm mortars buffed.
• Carlos firing effect updated.
• Aggro radius when firing the Graxa and the Tezcatl has been reduced.
• Tezcatl changed to fire subsonic bullets.
• The Amerigo's impact pyro hadn't been assigned this whole time (oops).
• Batteries replaced on the Cut Fifty's flashlight.

Vehicles

• Vehicles have short descriptions similar to weapons and also display Pierce Armor and Handling Class on examine. Pierce Armor pips indicate how sturdy the vehicle is, while Handling Class pips indicate how nimble the vehicle is.
• Juke spacer powersuit added.
• Upgunned mobility scooter given a different coat of paint and its weapon mount position adjusted.
• Mongoose has a dedicated run cycle.
• Added damage and death effects for the Coffin, Mongoose and Juke.
• The Spacer ball tread bike, Rounder and Cutter will no longer make stomp noises when pressing Space.
• Sprat van was missing the fuses for its headlights and taillights – not any more.

Text & UI

• When placing items in the ARMORY, UI will navigate to the relevant tab to show where the item has been transferred to.
• Numerous UI renders for various vehicles and components (wheels, batteries, hardpoints etc.) added, further diminishing the remaining MS paint placeholders.
• Heal value of consumable healing items visible on examining those items.
• Revised "themes" (text colors) for merchant barks in missions like Vilutian Promenade.

Enemies

• Corporate security units (AKA the Bulver goons) given a different coat of paint.
• Punch distance reduced for enemies.
• Some chobber units were literally losing their heads due to faulty data – their heads will no longer disappear from existence at certain rotations.
• HP bleedout threshold for cop units increased to be consistent with other infantry.
• "Sheriff" and "Deputy" cops added (though they will only appear on the Outskirts mission).

Mission-specific spoilers

• [L. Wrightson] Reworked: weapon crate and phone booth have swapped positions, VBR replaced with Cooper, and new tutorial messages appear.
• Locked the cars behind the hospital that could break scripting.
• Fixed early appearance of the player character's name so as not to ruin the surprise.
• The player will not drop their backpack in shock anymore after meeting Sequin Parrot while on foot.
• Retired for the time being, along with the causeway transition map. Both maps may return at a later time.
• Retired for the time being, along with Angel Base. Both maps may return at a later time.
• Rictus and Lil' Tutorial Buddy have been removed, especially since the latter was in the habit of knocking vehicles off pads. Garage is now the current and only hub. Check what vehicles are currently impounded via the IMPOUND phone, look at what new recipes are available in the FABRICATOR and maybe watch a couple of commercials on the TV.
• NEW Meet merchants in other freelance missions and some of them will be found here. Also it's raining, can you guess how?
• Progression gating on vehicles removed and instead vehicles may randomly appear.
• Progression gating on vehicles removed and instead vehicles may randomly appear.
• [Aubrey's Hood] Progression gating on vehicles removed and instead vehicles may randomly appear.
• Progression gating on vehicles removed and instead vehicles may randomly appear.
• Timers for spawns adjusted back to old values – enemy waves will come faster making the mission shorter (but more frantic).
• Check in on Big Bozeman's Boomin' Blaster Bonanza for big guns and Heavenly Huang for heavy ammo. Also the cops that were slacking off duty are back to work and will shoot at the player.
• Timers for spawns adjusted back to old values – enemy waves will come faster making the mission shorter (but more frantic).
• Find Sgt. Kasvi outside the depot, who will sell you an assortment of vehicles.
• [Lil' Factory] NEW Blow up a Lil' Buddy factory – should be simple, right? Infantry and powersuits only.
• NEW Demolition map. Infantry and powersuits only. Bring some explosives.
• [Investigate: Katar Joutsen] NEW Gather intel on three targets but don't kill them – just scare them out of the level. Vehicle required.
• [Kill: Katar Joutsen] NEW Lay siege to Katar's spacer compound and take her and her clones out. Don't let them get near their mechs.
• [Kill: Niall Black] NEW Two stage Brigador kill mission – get through the mall and confront corvid Niall Black.
• NEW Terror mission that kicks off after taking out the armored NPC – shoot the sheriffs and the deputies.
• NEW Visit Ivan's Impound 'mporium to get your vehicle back. Cash only.

If you encounter a bug or a crash, please tell us about it in the Technical Issues subforum on Steam.

In closing

If you read our previous post, the goal of this update is to bring the Early Access version of the game up to the same perceived level of content and structure as the demo version. Along with doing that, we've added some new missions and vehicles. A lot of the previous barriers to the game's content have largely been removed, while the addition of the Night Market means players can quickly get access to the things they want for their loadouts, and the Impound Lot should lessen the sting of dying mid-mission.

The downside to this kind of change is – depending on the player's loadout choices – that the difficulty of some missions may seem too low (the carmine rig is quite powerful on its own), or too high (relying on just the carmine for defense while attempting to take on one of the new targets may not even be possible). Then again we've already seen players one shot the Rounder tank on Vinton Villas with just the loyalist kit and a couple of items, so feel free to prove us wrong.

There's also plenty of work still to do. In the near future we are looking at the following:

• Vehicle pathing – this is one of the higher priority things currently since enemy NPCs still have issues getting around a level.
• Inconsistent stability issues with NVIDIA cards – we have an entire thread on this; our apologies if you are affected by it.
• Localization – the game is in the process of being translated into Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. Assuming things go well, more languages will be added to the list.
• UI/UX revisions – this is a long-term task that touches on not just art and code but also design, since we want the player to have very deliberate inventory interactions that are meant to have a certain degree of friction, but not to the point of frustration (for instance a frequent request from players is the ability to sort or filter the contents of their ARMORY to make it easier to find weapons and ammo).

We do not have an exact ETA on when these things will happen, but we want to have the localization done before the end of 2026.

Another month means another track, so with Angel Base retired for the time being, here's the music track that was used for it by Makeup and Vanity Set called "Refugee Camp".

Watch on YouTube ↗

This track, along with a lot of other ambient tracks used in the game, is actually not in the Brigador Killers Soundtrack. MAVS may put together another album of the various ambients and other tracks that did not make the cut of the 96 minute long album, though that is for a later time.

Last but not least, all our games are on discount as part of the Steam Autumn Sale.