EG2 Patch Notes

• Resolved an issue where some players were unable to start Evil Genius 2 without removing their previous game saves.

Developer Update

Hi, this is Rob Myall, lead coder on Evil Genius 2, with another development update. We continue to see lively discussion on all our social media channels and hopefully this will help you understand where our priorities are today.

With the release of our In-Genius Items Pack, one of our early decisions to only allow the addition of DLC to new campaigns received a lot of feedback and we’re looking to address that as soon as we possibly can, hopefully in the next major patch. The next patch will focus on further quality of life updates and bug fixes. This is looking promising but is going to take a fair amount of testing so we can’t rush it out of the door. This will ultimately exclude one item of DLC – the Campaign Pack – which, as you’ll see when we start to reveal more details, is not something that can be dropped into a game in progress.

We’re also continuing to look at other points of feedback: many of you have expressed dissatisfaction with the vignette effect around the screen so we’re looking to add an accessibility option to disable this, as well as an option to disable some of the flashing elements in the UI. One of the items we couldn’t address in our large balance patch (V1.3.0) was research still being an item that blocks play, so we’re looking at whether we can retain your progress on one research project while allowing you to switch to another (allowing you to prioritise that World Domination research without having to abandon a longer-term upgrade).

Rich Edwards’ design team are looking at balance issues to do with the spreading of Fire (which may help those struggling with a Red Ivan playthrough!), how Agents interact with the Cover Operation and their initial entry in to the Lair, and looking at making Traps more effective. They’re also fixing a number of Loot items that haven’t quite been working as expected.
Keep engaging with our Community team and we’ll do our best to keep you apprised.

This latest hotfix addresses a small number of issues raised following the release of our last patch. The list of changes that are now live are as follows:

• Addressed a crash when a character has been targeted by a Special Ability, but despawns before the Special Ability has completed.
• Incendio's "Magic Trick" ability will correctly display a cooldown timer.
• Completing "The Melting Point of Steele" Side Story will no longer remove Symmetry from the campaign.

12th May 2021

Patch 1.4.0

Our team have been hard at work addressing improvements and locating and resolving additional bugs raised by the Community since our last patch. Once again, we’d like to thank the Evil Genius Community for their continued support.

FREE Minion 2 Statue:

This advisor once dared to tell a Genius what to do and how to do it. That didn’t go so well – but at least she got a statue…
Every player will find this statue added to the Loot section of their Build Menu as standard from launch today!

• Prisoners can be moved from one Cell to another by using the "Escort Prisoner" feature.
• Minions correctly attempt to escape after being imprisoned in a Cell.
• Combining the Cupid's Arrow Loot item with a Shark Tank no longer results in an inescapable Trap.
• Notifications for Minion Salaries more accurately coincide with their respective events.
• Sound effects for Henchman abilities play consistently.
• Characters' limbs remain in the intended positions when interacting with Lair Items & equipment.
• Items placed by Agents, Crime Lords, or narrative Objectives are no longer constructed on tiles that block existing build orders.
• Characters consistently navigate Stairs in unusual Lair configurations.
• Minions are less likely to abandon useful jobs to play Videogames while their stats allow them to continue working.
• The Minion Training Screen now displays training items that are under construction.
• Disabling the "Auto-Follow" option no longer prevents a character from being followed by clicking the profile image on their Side Panel.
• The presentation of Research Project costs update correctly based on colour blindness accessibility settings.
• The Cost of Organic Samples has been increased to be consistent with other Research equipment.
• The Holographic Globe now requires Quantum Chemists and a Super Computer to unlock.
• The Computer Array now requires Biologists and a Centrifuge to unlock.
• Security Zone modes that have not been unlocked now display correct descriptions.
• Geniuses can no longer be ordered to use Weapon Racks.
• The durability of Armoury Items now depletes consistently.
• Objective images correctly display after opening the Objectives interface directly after the Minion Manager.
• End of Campaign cutscenes correctly respect in-game volume settings.
• Cover Op Decor items now function as intended.
• Decor Items for the Cover Operation are no longer made available before this Room type has been unlocked.
• Selecting a Locked minion type, then closing and reopening the Minion Training screen will correctly display a Worker minion.
• Weapon racks can no longer be placed with their access points overlapping one another.
• Security Cameras no longer have their orientation locked in unusual circumstances.
• Generated and consumed Power is displayed correctly in the Stats Screen.
• Rotation points have been adjusted for some Lair Items.
• Improved gamepad support.
• Text and localisation improvements.

• The Achievement "Your Very Own Museum" can be correctly unlocked after obtaining the Hubbard Slice before the Flame of Prometheus.
• The Achievement "Recruit Them All" can be correctly unlocked without recruiting both Clara Jones and Carl Cafard.
• Achievements for firing later stages of a Doomsday Device are no longer unlocked during Test Firing.

• During the "Bury the Hatchet" campaign Objective, Criminal Goons can no longer be captured and brainwashed.
• The Board Meeting can be consistently completed in Maximilian's campaign Objective, "War on Krast".
• The Criminal Network level requirement has been lowered in Red Ivan's campaign Objective, "Glorious Reclamation".
• The aftermath Schemes from firing the M.I.D.A.S. device no longer occasionally suggest you have fired H.A.V.O.C.
• The "Great Studies" Research cost is correctly displayed during Zalika's campaign Objective, "Brain Trust".
• Emma's "Plotter" ability displays updated visual effects.

• Crime Lords can be targeted using Henchman abilities.
• The number of Super Agents assaulting the Lair has been reduced during the Side Story, "The Melting Point of Steele".
• Additional Demolition Squaddies will assault the Lair if one or more of them are Brainwashed during the Side Story, "The Brave And the Bola".
• Permanently defeated Super Agents are no longer resurrected to be defeated again during the Side story, "The Other Most Dangerous Game".
• Incendio no longer gains a trait indicating he is a Super Agent during the Side Story, "Ace Up The Sleeve".
• Schemes to Stop Poison Attempts will correctly be removed if cancelled during the Side Story, "Hail To The Chef".
• Correct voiceover plays when recruiting Eli Barracuda Jnr in Zalika's campaign.
• The correct Threat Indicator is displayed over the "Wing Or Lose" Threat during the Side Story, "Vox Pop-Eli".

• Permanently defeating a Super Agent correctly removes their Threats from the World Map.
• Wrecking Bola now arrives at the Lair with a team of Agents when Lured.
• Agent Steele's "Smash And Grab" Threats no longer spawn in multiples within a single Region.
• Agent X's Hard Boiled Investigators are consistently attributed to the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Force of Justice.
• Agent Steele now gives 20 Intel when successfully Interrogated.

• Espectro no longer becomes trapped in place when interrogating captured characters on Traps.
• Sir Daniel can recover his stats at a Conference Table even if his Camouflage ability is activated when sitting down.
• Incendio's "Misdirection" ability correctly resets after sitting at a Conference Table.
• Incendio's position marker is now accurate when seated at a Conference Table.
• After recruiting Full Metal Jackie, her bonus Schemes no longer display overhead VFX.

• The R.A.Y.G.U.N. Laser correctly fires repeatedly on lengthy Interrogations.
• The "Taught By a Dodo" Trait is correctly applied after minions interact with the Dodo Educator Loot item.
• The "Flying Pig" Trait is correctly applied after minions interact with the Flying Pig Loot item.
• The "Egg Head" Trait is correctly applied after minions interact with the Giant Egg Loot item.
• Indestructible Loot items no longer display the repair overhead icon after minions interact with them.

28th April 2021

Patch 1.3.0

We've been listening, and we've been busy. With this update we have addressed core areas of feedback from you, the Evil Genius 2 community, ranging from progression issues to game pace, and as a result the length of a campaign can be significantly shorter for those of you who want to play more aggressively.

On the World Map, we've increased the amount of Gold earned from longer running Schemes, and ensured that this is earned over the Scheme's entire duration, allowing you to set a Scheme in motion and reap the rewards while your attention is turned elsewhere. These Schemes still add Heat to the Region, but you'll know how much to expect up front, allowing you more effectively manage the strength of the Agents you're willing to face.

Longer "Heat Reduction" Schemes still remove all Heat from a Region, but once they have done so they can either be cancelled, or allowed to continue running for an increased amount of time, preventing Heat from rising in the area. This keeps the Forces of Justice off your back while the Criminal Network continues to bring in its passive income of Gold. We've also increased the variety of Schemes at Tier 1 Criminal Networks, which will allow you to earn increased rewards for sending specialist minions out into the world earlier in the game, so while you'll still be able to rely on workers to bring in Gold in the early game, it can be beneficial to keep a supply of advanced minions on hand.

Additionally, a brand new Scheme Type has been added in the form of Intel Only schemes, representing activating contacts in your existing Criminal Networks by using Intel generated by Computer Consoles, or sourced from Agent Interrogations. These schemes can be run without sending additional minions from the Lair, allowing you to start a scheme instantly and reap enormous rewards. Be aware that setting some of these Schemes in motion will add a substantial amount of Heat to your Region, so be prepared for strong Agents if you activate one at the wrong time.

In the Lair, the first thing we changed was the speed that vehicles arrive and depart from your Island. This allows minions to get out into the World with greater haste, helping you keep your efforts of World Domination ticking over more readily. We've reduced some key training times for specialist minions to reduce stalls in the training room, and we've also taken a look at the messaging of some items of Lair equipment and added some key information, especially in relation to which items of furniture the Forces of Justice are going to be on the lookout for.

Your more valuable minions - despite being inherently less valuable than your own, nefarious Genius - will still expect to be paid for their time...while they're alive, of course. You'll need to keep a keener eye on your income and outgoings from now on, as the penalties for not doing so will be more readily apparent. We've added additional status effects and minion overheads to help you identify the problem cases in your Lair.

The Forces of Justice have also had some attention, with more dangerous Agent specialists now regularly visiting your Lair if you fail to turn away Investigators before they delve too deeply, and some rebalancing of Super Agents and the squads that accompany them. Be wary - the specialists sent by Investigators will always pose a more dangerous threat.

We've also taken care of a range of bugs too of course, addressing known problem areas with stuck or vanishing Super Agents, troublesome Schemes that decided a Region was too crowded to spawn in, and ensuring more players across the world are able to play out their dreams of dominating it, to name just a few. See the bulleted lists below for a few more details of the balance changes and bug fixes.

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

• Vehicle speed and responsiveness have been significantly increased, resulting in a faster game pace, and more rapid travel for all characters to and from the Lair.
• Body Bags have been made less punitive, by increasing the duration of the negative status effect, but lowering the Morale drain that results, giving minions more time to reach stat restoring equipment.
• Minions operating furniture will no longer ignore Executions.
• Minion Salaries have been increased in line with the increased income available from the World Map. Evil Genius discounts still apply.
• Specialist minions who are not paid will suffer increased penalties to their Morale, and the messaging of these penalties has been improved.
• Minions will abandon a wider range of Lair activities to travel to the World Map, speeding up Scouting of Regions, Upgrading Criminal Networks, and running Schemes.
• Muscle minions will respond to combat at a slightly increased range, and their base armour and damage values have been increased.
• Suspicion required to attract a wave of Specialist Agents has been lowered.
• The cost of the Bonus Minion Capacity Research Projects has been lowered.
• Agents will spend less time on individual items in the Cover Operation, and are less likely to revisit them.
• The number of Tourists arriving at the Lair will increase with campaign progress.
• Additional categories have been added to the Minion Manager for Guard Posts, Armoury Staging Posts, and the Laboratory.
• Advanced minions types are now available earlier in each campaign.
• Main and Side Story tasks that require minions to be trained now take into account those already present in the Lair.

• When playing on Easy difficulty, free Worker minions are auto-hired at a rate of 6 every 60 seconds, increased from 2 every 60 seconds.
• When playing on Easy difficulty, Worker minions can be manually recruited at a cost of 1,000 Gold per minion, reduced from 2,000 Gold per minion.
• In Hard mode, Agents have had their combat stats increased to ensure they remain a challenge in the face of tougher Muscle minions.

• Increased duration on long Gold and Heat schemes, and cost adjustments made to allow for more hands-off World Map play.
• Criminal Networks now generate more Gold as a passive income at each level.
• New Scheme Type Added: Intel Only. These schemes do not require minions and have a very short duration.
• Increased variety of Schemes at Tier 1.
• Super Agents and other Antagonists on the World Stage can be attracted to the Lair directly by selecting the character on the map, and then using the "Lure" option on their side panel.
• After exiting Lockdown, residual Heat in a Region remains at 0%/20%/30% when playing on Easy/Medium/Hard difficulty.
• Broadcast Strength required to upgrade Criminal Networks has been reduced.
• The time required to upgrade Criminal Networks has been reduced.
• Super Agents ignore Heat Reduction Schemes.

• Gold earned from excavating Gold Tiles has been increased.
• Furniture Modes have additional descriptions.
• Muscle minions now prefer Advanced Guard Posts over Armoury jobs.
• Training time has been reduced for Biologists, Quantum Chemists, Counter Agents, Socialites, and Spin Doctors.
• Internal door access times have been modified to favour shorter times for minions and longer times for agents. The Evil Genius and Henchmen can pass through any door unimpeded.
• External doors to the Lair now open automatically for minions on lower security levels, but not for Agents, cutting down on the time it takes minions to travel to the World or collect new items.
• Minions gain improved benefits from the "Well Fed" Trait, gained by eating at specialised Food Counters in the Mess Hall.

• Scheme durations have been reduced to 10 seconds for the overwhelming majority of Objective Schemes.
• Doomsday Device Fuel Scheme costs have been adjusted to cost only ONE thing: Gold, minions or intel, and had their durations reduced to 10 seconds.
• Doomsday Device Fuel Schemes now require only a level 1 Criminal Network at all stages, making gathering fuel much easier throughout each campaign.
• Schemes spawned from Red Ivan's Doomsday Device reward a number of Muscle minions in addition to a significant quantity of Gold.
• Heat generated by Objective Schemes has been lowered so that Schemes can more reliably be run without being cancelled by the Criminal Network entering Lockdown.
• Intel costs have been reduced for Main Objective Schemes, and entirely removed from Side Objective Schemes.
• The Objectives "A Moment's Calm", "A Moment's Respite", "A Moment of Preparation", and "The Final Respite" have had requirements for Loot, Schemes run, and Research completed entirely removed.

• Feels No Pain, Good Reflexes / Thick Skin / Owns Armour damage reduction to 10% / 15 / 20% / 25%.
• Decent Uppercut / Good Cross Punch / Strong Left Hook / Strong Right Hook / Strong Left Jab / Strong Left Jab bonus melee damage increased 10 / 10 / 15/ 15/ 20 / 20.
• Crack Shot / Good Shot bonus damage increased 25 / 10 Ranged damage, and no longer stack with Poor Shot.
• Ex-Force of Justice Spotting Power bonus increased against the appropriate Force of Justice
• Perceptive Spotting Power increased against all Agents.
• Loves Sleep / Loves food bonus stat restore increased to 10 per minute on affected jobs.
• Bad Back Vitality drain while carrying body bags and furniture lowered to 5 Vitality per minute.
• Sees Dead People spawn chance lowered slightly. Now restores additional Morale when disposing of bodies.
• Thrifty / Cheap Salary Reduction increased to a 50% / 75% discount.
• Loves 80s Ballads Morale Restore boost on Karaoke Machine doubled.
• Hates Needles Morale drain reduced while operating equipment in the Infirmary.
• Embarrassing Tattoo willingness to train into a minion type who does not have sleeves on their uniform further reduced.

• Crash fixes and stability improvements.
• The game can now be played and saved if your Windows username contains non-Latin characters.
• The setting to "Share Game Information" is reliably saved between games.
• Agents and minions will no longer refuse to die in unusual combat or trap combinations.
• Characters will no longer become stuck in place after triggering Traps in unusual circumstances.
• Geniuses and Henchmen will no longer fail to enter combat with disguised Agents when given a direct command.
• Minion Salaries are correctly removed after desertion.
• Commitments are correctly updated after cancelling or rearranging build orders.
• Agents will brazenly don their Disguises in front of minions if those minions lack the Smarts to remove them.
• Interrogating Force of Justice Agents of any quality will correctly generate Intel.
• Research progress on the HUD is displayed consistently.
• IRIS will no longer erroneously advise that the Vault is empty on starting a new game.
• Minion Manager performance has been improved.
• Minions with Traits which recover their stats can be captured correctly.
• Minions will upgrade their weapon after training to become a more advanced minion type, provided better weapons are available for them to do so.
• Event Logs for characters arriving at the Lair now trigger when the vehicle they are in has arrived.
• The Cruise Ship will wait for significantly less time before departing.
• The cooldown on specific IRIS Event Log messages has been increased.
• Loot Items do not indicate one is available to place in the Build Menu after they are stolen by Rogues.
• Causes of death remain on Body Bags after loading a save.
• Dropped Rogue sacks now have a standardised appearance, regardless of their contents.
• Minions can correctly be assigned priorities in the Minion Manager whilst Training.
• Overhead icons for wall-mounted Traps now appear in the correct location above the trap.
• Luxury Beds have had their passive durability decay removed.
• Brainwashing Saboteurs/Rogues/Soldiers will more reliably add Technicians/Valets/Guards to your workforce. Brainwashing higher level Agents will add higher level minions to your workforce.
• Muscle minions now prefer to use Advanced Guard Posts over the Guard Tables / Staging Posts in the Armoury.
• When playing as Maximilian, multiple Conference Tables can be built.
• The area near the Helicopter Tower on Crown Gold is no longer autotagged.

• Schemes necessary for progressing Objectives spawn more reliably.
• Super Agents no longer become stuck in the "Investigating" state on the World Map.
• Schemes that provide rewards over time have had their presentation modified to improve messaging.
• Criminal Networks can no longer be destroyed while a Region is in Lockdown.
• Super Agents will travel to the Lair after a Scheme has been run in their Region, even if that Scheme is cancelled.
• Super Agents will respawn more rapidly on the World Map after leaving the Lair without being defeated.

• Running Doomsday Fuel Schemes will correctly progress Objectives which require it, even if the Doomsday Device is fully fuelled.

• In the Side Story, "Cunning as a Foxworth", killing any Steele Agent will correctly progress the task to "Kill J. Steeles in the Lair".
• Full Metal Jackie is now easier to recruit.
• The Side Story, "The Other Most Dangerous Game", can no longer be started if one or more Super Agents have been permanently defeated.
• Minions will correctly move away from stat restore equipment during Objectives which impact their maximum stats.
• The Rayguns stolen from Area 51 list the correct minions that can use them.

• All Tech Tree nodes are correctly accessible in Sandbox Mode.
• Research which costs more than 40,000 Gold can now be unlocked in Sandbox Mode.
• Photo Mode stability has been improved in Sandbox Mode.

13th April 2021

Patch 1.2.0

With this update we've improved overall game stability, improved detection of audio devices, addressed a number of issues which could cause progression to become blocked, and made it simpler to see which of your Criminal Networks have no Schemes running.

We're continuing to listen to your feedback about balance and the desire for a swifter game pace, and are hard at work on further updates to these areas. Thanks to everyone who has got in touch, and thank you for your continued support of Evil Genius 2.

• Crash fixes and stability improvements.
• Audio device detection has been improved, and manual audio device selection has been added to the Launcher Options.
• Radio Tower VFX has been disabled where a Scheme is running in the Region.
• Narrative Characters can be successfully brainwashed if Objectives require them to be, even if the Lair is already at maximum minion capacity.
• Trap effects no longer remain on minions or Agents indefinitely in unusual circumstances.
• Stairs place on Gold tiles will be constructed correctly.
• On the Crown Gold island Lair, the bridge from the Helipad is no longer autotagged for Distraction.
• Improved gamepad support.
• Various text and localisation improvements.

• Tamara Krast can no longer be executed before the Task requires her to be in Max's campaign Objective, "Gold Fingers, And Toes, And...Well, Everything".
• Narrative characters can no longer escape the Lair under unusual circumstances during Emma's Campaign Objective, "The Sound of Science".
• Scientists consistently die after being Interrogated during Emma's campaign Objective, "The Sound of Science".

• Addressed issues where several Side Stories could be started without having the advanced minion types they required.
• Loot items cannot be stolen by Rogues before their Side Stories are complete.
• Side Story "Hail to the Chef" can now be completed correctly even if fewer than three Forces of Justice have at least one scouted Region.
• Fugu Furakawa's Heat Reduction and Gold Schemes will no longer spawn multiple times simultaneously within a single Region.
• Crime Lords will correctly become full Henchmen when their final Side Story Objective is completed, even if the reward has not yet been collected.
• Arms Dealer Bodyguards have had their strength reduced during the "Up In Arms" Side Story.
• Julius Bird can no longer be killed after Interrogation in "The Man With The Silver Gun" Side Story.
• Completion rewards have been added to the "Poisin' Ivy" Side Story.

• John and Jane Steele can no longer be brainwashed.
• Agent Steele will no longer arrive at the island dressed in scuba gear. Instead, one of a variety of John or Jane Steeles may arrive.

• Carl Cafard can now be killed after being recruited as a Henchman when playing on Hard difficulty.

• Trading cards have been added to the game! Get collecting minions.

7th April 2021

Hotfix 1.1.3

It has been just over a week since Evil Genius 2 was released into the world, and what a week it has been! With this hotfix we've addressed several issues which could cause progress to become blocked, and have made Deception-focused playstyles more viable by significantly reducing Force of Justice Agents' chance of fighting back, which should result in fewer brutal murders of your humble Valets... provided you keep an eye on your Heat!

Thank you all for your passionate feedback, and we'll continue listening as we address areas where balance and pace can be adjusted to reduce waiting times and further improve your World Domination experience in the weeks ahead.

General

• Agents of "Average" quality and below will no longer fight back when being distracted and escorted out of the Lair. The chance for higher quality Agents to fight back has been reduced.
• The Spotting Power bonus for minions on duty at Guard Posts has been improved.
• Killing characters as soon as they disembark from the Cruise Ship will no longer prevent other characters from disembarking.

Side Stories

• Crime Lords dying outside of combat will no longer block progression.
• Gas clouds of all types, including those seen in the Sword in the Stone Side story, will correctly disperse on completion of the Side Story.

1st April 2021

Hotfix 1.1.2

• The Side Story "Meteor Not, Here I Come" can no longer be unlocked before completing the Tutorial, to prevent progression blocking

30th March 2021

Hotfix 1.1.1

• Crash fixes and stability improvements
• Dropped Lair Builder attachments no longer block navigation
• Achievements for recruiting new minion types now unlock correctly