The Snowbreak development team took some time earlier today to host a livestream where they answered a variety of questions and showcased upcoming content that would be available in the next update.

Questions Answered

The stream started off with MuMu and ChonChong, lead producers for Snowbreak, answering a series of questions and responding to other player feedback. Questions and answers are paraphrased for conciseness.

Can you clarify your stance on ML (Master Love) content?

Yes, we are committed to this.

Additionally, an on-screen graphic provided a timeline of their past and future commitment to ML content:

• Past: ML content allowed us to survive and be reborn [presumably referring to the game's success after declining in revenue]
• Now: Continued production of ML content
• Future: ML content is the only goal

Going forward, what is your priority when it comes to balancing ML and gameplay content?

ML is the first priority, but there there is no reason why this should affect the production of gameplay content. Both can be produced simultaneously.

An on-screen graphic explained the split in resources required to produce both types of content and showed that since that the production of one would not affect the other:

• ML content mainly requires art and copywriting work
• Gameplay content mainly requires game development and programming work

Has the production team increased in size? What future plans do you have?

Since version 1.7 [Gradient of Souls], we were able to start hiring a small amount of new staff for the first time. We were also able to a larger higher round during the anniversary event [Suspense in Skytopia] as well. The newly hired staff have been integrating with the team since then, and we hope that the effects of this additional productivity will show in version 2.2 [the update after Operation Midnight]. The process of recruitment wasn't easy either, as we had to filter through candidates and make sure that they aligned with our company values of prioritizing service to the playerbase. It's also not easy working here, and a lot of people ended up not being able to handle the workload.

I feel that the current single-player game modes aren't engaging enough. Do you have any plans to address that?

We know that there are often disagreements between portions of the playerbase that think the game is too easy as well as those that think it's too hard. Because of this, we have plans to produce both relaxing, casual gameplay as well as more difficult challenge content in order to satisfy the requests of both type of players. Some players say that we have a lot of ideas but not the ability to make them work, but experimenting with different ideas is important, so we won't stop trying in that regard.

I often find various bugs while playing Snowbreak. Are there any plans to fix that?

In the past, our production team was still quite small, so we were often running into deadlines, only finishing content at the last minute so we didn't have enough time to properly test things. In fact, this livestream was only prepared last night! But we're committed to fixing bugs when they do appear, and we hope that the additional manpower that we have from the extra staff we hired will reduce the frequency at which bugs appear.

What happened to those game modes you showed during the anniversary livestream?

We expect it to release in version 2.2. Haha, I guess we haven't really revealed much meaningful information this stream; if you guys don't like this format please let us know.

Are there plans to produce more in-depth story content and lore in the future?

That's something we'd like to do, but it's also a difficult process. Given the situation we're in, it's difficult to find people who wouldn't go against our vision and commitments which makes it hard to expand our writing team.

What are the plans for the remake of the first ten story chapters?

Currently it's not something in our immediate plans as it would require a large portion of the company's workforce, and we still need to produce content for future updates.

What about extra character voices? Are there plans to expand on that?

We plan to have the main story fully voiced [no language was specified for this] by version 2.5. However, we do have plans to improve the gun sounds in the game, if that's something that interests you.

Are there any plans for the Adjutant's marriage with Lyfe and Fenny to be reflected in the main story?

Yes, this will be acknowledged in the main story as a canon event.

Is the Adjutant going to be getting any more outfits?

Yes, we actually have a new outfit for the Adjutant coming soon. Please look forward to it.

Speaking of outfits, what are your plans for outfits with changeable parts?

Both the Vidya - Agave and Chenxing - Ethereal Cloud outfits releasing this update will have two changeable parts, with a total cost of 108RMB (~$15USD) each.

Are we going to get more home screen options, like random operatives and outfits?

With the next update, there will be a feature to randomize your home screen operative. As well, we would like to add the ability to set interactive scenes to the home menu, but we're working on performance optimizations for that first.

I'm always running out of certain weapon uncap materials. Is there going to be a way to convert ones I have a lot of into other ones?

This is also a feature that's being added with the next update. We got this question a while ago, so we just wanted to include it as a reminder of the feature.

I hope there will be a way to rewatch characters' gacha summoning animations.

We'll be adding this feature in version 2.2.

Is there anything that can be done to deal with all of my extra SR operative manifest fragments?

There are plans to add an exchange shop that you can use those in, coming in version 2.3.

Will anything be done to improve the ability to get good stats on logistics pieces?

We're currently developing a logistics pity system to improve the experience of obtaining good logistics pieces. We hope to have it completed by version 2.5.

[Later in the stream, the presenters responded to a comment about version 2.5 being too long of a wait with a promise to try and have it implemented sooner.]

Can you add a setting to turn off the visuals effects of teammates in co-op game modes?

We hope to introduce such a feature before version 2.3.

I hope there will be more ways to communicate through chat or or quick preset messages in co-op game modes.

We have plans to add more preset messages that can be sent, to be added around version 2.2 or 2.3.

Are there any plans for official merchandise?

We hope to have an official store open around version 2.2, and by version 2.3 at the latest. We'll be sending out surveys to gauge interest in what players would want, and we hope to start with pre-orders of merchandise.

[Note: this answer is most likely with regards to domestic CN players; it is unclear whether this will be made available to the global playerbase.]

Do you guys pay attention to internet controversies about the game?

Always. We've heard that many bots will raid [CN side] forums from 1-2AM and attack Snowbreak players or pretend to be Snowbreak players and harass others. We keep a close eye on this though, and it's a well-known phenomenon, so these accounts are usually quickly banned.

After this, a redemption code was shown on screen.

Unfortunately, it seems that it only works on domestic CN servers. Global did get its own code though: futureawait

All About Agave

Art director 牛肉 (beef) then took some time to talk about Vidya - Agave. He described her as someone who loved movies, loved daydreaming, and especially loved the Adjutant. As part of her transfer from Laevatein operative to a member of the Heimdall Force, she had modified her outfit as well. He commented that her purple colour scheme was kept due to it being popular with players, but she now has her jacket tied around the waist and exposing her abs to "show off her strength" and that she's definitely not soft and weak (even though the Adjutant can lift her with one hand).

In the past, beef noted that players said that the character models were not detailed enough, so they've tried adding extra details like ab lines on characters' torsos, but while also making sure to not make characters too muscular. He lamented that despite all the effort they put into details like that, some still wouldn't play nice with the game's shadow effects. But he said that they are trying their best, and he hopes that players will appreciate the extra details nonetheless.

Talking about Agave's design, he noted the Indian themes and influences that went into Agave's design, as the representation of the Hindu goddess Saraswati. This also extends to her Plumed Beauty outfit, which was specifically themed after a peacock. Special care was placed on her head accessories so as to not make it too cluttered with her glasses.

There was also a tour of Agave's room, with the presenters hilariously trying to show off her bathtub animation and failing to do so as the option to change her dorm action kept placing her at every part of her room except the bath.

Chenxing's Zodiac Outfit

At the start the year, there was discussion about whether or not they should make an outfit for the zodiac and the animal for the year, the dragon. In the end, they decided to create a dragon-themed Chinese qipao dress for the occasion (I'll note that it's not exactly a typical qipao design...). They focused on a black and white yin-yang concept, with accents of red and gold for additional Chinese theming. Since it's a still a dragon zodiac outfit, horns and a floating tail were added as well.

Gameplay Demo

The stream ended off with a showcase of Agave against the new boss, Nightborne Phantom. The bitrate of the stream made this section basically unwatchable, but there was some intel to be collected about the boss:

• It has two hard HP triggers that each lead to a different phase of the fight
• It has three breakable parts that regenerate after each trigger
• It can spawn an area that deals damage over time, but also restores S-Energy, making it a high-risk, high-reward strategy

Additionally, Agave's playstyle was shown off, being able to spam her standard ability with no visible cooldown on it. She would then use her ultimate ability to deal large burst damage, before taking advantage of Nightborne Phantom's invulnerability during its HP triggers to shoot it and very rapidly regenerate S-Energy.

Final Remarks

Some viewers in chat asked about the possibility of a test server to allow for bugs to be found in advance. The presenters responded that it is currently not possible due to the tight deadlines that they currently had, but once addition production capability becomes available and game contents can be finished earlier in advance, a test server could be set up. MuMu additionally promised that version 2.2 will be big and to stay tuned. They mentioned that as part of the the efforts to expand the game's voiceover, outfits would also be getting more voice lines. When asked about the possibility of an SSR Nita alt, the presenters said that they would conduct a survey poll to see if players would be interested in it, but noted that they think it would be difficult to create an SSR design for her that players would like (I'm aware that there's a tweet from the official EN Snowbreak account that claims it's "on the schedule," but I assure you that this is what was said on stream). Alongside promises of further character model optimizations and more content for the massage minigame, the stream ended with another redemption code:

Again, the code here doesn't work on global servers, but you can use "tasteofagave" to get the same rewards.