Patch for Callisto Protocol Adds New Game+, Skip Cinematics for PC, Fixes More Performance Issues, Bugs

An earlier than expected New Game+ update for The Callisto Protocol just dropped with the January 19th Patch update! Originally, the feature was scheduled to launch with the Hardcore Mode around February 7th, but the surprise is certainly not unwelcome — many players have shared that they are jumping into the game to start another playthrough, with their progression now carrying over to a new save.

The NG+ mode will require an active save file with a completed game. Your progression from the completed game should carry over to the new save: you will be able to collect all of your weapons, upgrades, and Callisto Credits at the first Reforge.

The update also addressed the Maximum Security Achievement/Trophy bug (and the related “The Protocol is About Life” achievement), and it looks like an additional NG+ completion trophy was added in as well.

PC players may also be pleased to head that there is now a Skip Cinematics button, mapped to the “Interact/Pickup” control (“E” by default). It’s not certain whether this change was introduced on consoles as well, since the patch notes do not mention it — if not, the discrepancy there is certainly a bit peculiar.

Of note are general performance, graphical, and crash optimizations (there is hoping that this cleaned up hiccups that remained after the first round of performance patches), and the issue where the players took damage vaulting over obstacles.

Below is the full list of updates added by the latest patch and, in case you were curious, all of the changes introduced into the game so far.

[v. 3.01] January 19, 2023

NEW GAME+

Users who previously completed the game will have access to NewGame+ after the patch.
- Application restart may be required.
- Requires an active save file from game completion.

GLOBAL

Fixed an issue where some users were not correctly granted the “The Protocol is About Life” achievement
Added New Game Plus. Complete the game to unlock New Game Plus and carry your pression over to a new save. All weapons, upgrades, and Callisto Credits can be collected at the first Reforge
General performance optimizations across all platforms
Players no longer take damage when vaulting over obstacles
Fixed multiple issues where certain camera angles or progression paths could cause environments to stream out and allow Jacob to fall through the ground
Consistency pass on cabinets, lockers, and shelves to display correctly in High Contrast mode
Voice leveling and subtitle mismatch adjustments across localized languages

Fixed low frequency crash in the Tunnels level during the Two Head fight
Skip Cinematics button has been mapped to the Interact/Pickup input
Fixed a long hitch when enabling Ray-Traced Shadows in the main menu
Prevented mouse cursor from displaying during some area transitions

PS4

Fixed low frequency crash in Snowcat when Jacob is talking to Dani

[v. 2.01] December 15, 2022

GLOBAL

COMBAT OPTIMIZATION

Prevent enemies from attacking while you are attacking another enemy by adjusting uninterruptible windows for all player baton attacks vs standard enemies to add an extra 7 frames between hit and recover
Reduced frequency of players being attacked from behind. Enemies now prioritize grappling or repositioning instead of attacking
Widened incoming attack camera angle
Widened angle for dodging off screen attacks
Reduced damage taken multiplier when attacked from behind
Increased player facing away maximum angle for Grunt and Blind
Dodge optimization:
- Valid dodge angle now allows player to have stick slightly forward and right/left while still dodging (45 -> 30 degrees)
- Dodging at the end of the dodge window no longer means playing dodge animation and getting hit
Increased animation speed for:
- Health injector usage
- Weapon swapping
- Weapon reloading
- Upper receiver swapping
Auto-play reload animation when switching to an empty weapon
Continue initiated weapon swaps after interruptions
Extend amount of time between KTV appearance and mutation
Fixed phantom arm kills by armless NPCs
Increased audio cue volume for Danglers
Reduced default setting for camera shake
Added player invulnerable window to all 150 cm vaults
Changed Two Head to a two hit kill on the player in Medium Security, and a three hit kill in Minimum Security
Final boss encounter combat optimizations
Minetown AI pathing and spawning improvements

PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY

Optimized streaming to reduce memory usage in:
- Habitat Water Maze
- Snowcat Bridge Collapse
Fixed a memory leak with the Reforge 3d Printers

LOCALIZATION

Fixed voice leveling issues in multiple languages
Fixed subtitle/vo mismatch issues in Korean
Fixed instances of unlocalized lines in multiple languages
Fixed incorrect text descriptions on menus in Korean
Fixed untranslated instances of “Unlocked” on doors in multiple languages
Fixed instances of missing voice processing in multiple languages

OTHER

Added an option to enable performance mode when creating new games
Added an option to skip death cinematics and restart from checkpoint faster

Improved lighting performance on AMD cards (reduced VGR pressure of FDeferredLightPS)
Fixed an exploit that allowed players to receive the “The Protocol is About Life” achievement after beating the game once on a lower difficulty

PS5

Optimized lighting for multiple cinematics in Habitat and Tower

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[v. 1.02] December 06, 2022

Added popup dialog to display when players change ray-tracing settings and trigger a shader compile
Added a popup progress dialog to display in the main menu when compiling shaders
(Epic Specific) Fixed an issue preventing achievements from unlocking and displaying correctly
(Epic Specific) Fixed an issue causing the Terms Of Service to always display upon loading the app

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[v. 1.01] December 02, 2022

Updated PSO cache to further reduce stuttering during gameplay

Did you see any difference in performance after jumping back into the game? What did you discover in the New Game+? And, quite importantly, console players — were you able to skip past the cutscenes? Share your thoughts and anything we have missed in the comments below!