Join my Discord and be part of the community!
Stay up to date with everything I’m working on — including custom MapGenie maps, Steam guides, live streams, and more.
👉 https://discord.gg/AzuTccvf9Q

Cepheus Protocol is a real-time tactical strategy game about containing a biological outbreak before it wipes humanity off the map.
You control CERC- the elite force trying to hold the line against the infected.

Every mission, every choice, life or death.

Squad Management: Direct individual units or entire groups.
You are tasked with overseeing a wide variety of elite soldiers, each with specific abilities. You can either control individual units directly or command entire squads of troops. Proper squad management is crucial positioning, timing, and synergy between units are key to success.

Permadeath: If your unit dies, they are gone. No respawns.
This game does not hold your hand. When a soldier dies, they are gone for good. There are no respawns or second chances. Every soldier you deploy is an investment that could pay off in critical moments or be lost forever in the chaos of battle.

Infection Spread: Civilians and even soldiers can become infected if not handled fast.
In Cepheus Protocol, the infection spreads quickly, and civilians are the most vulnerable to becoming infected. Not only can civilians turn, but even your own soldiers can fall victim to the disease if they’re not treated immediately. Infection management and containment are essential for survival.


Fog of War: Unknown areas need drones, scouts, and careful advances.
The world is not always clear. Unexplored areas are shrouded in fog, and you will need to deploy drones, scouts, and carefully advance to reveal them. Mistakes in reconnaissance can lead to ambushes, and in this game, mistakes can be deadly.

Main Objective: Contain and eliminate Patient Zero (Phoebe) before infection spreads too far.
The ultimate goal in Cepheus Protocol is to locate and eliminate Patient Zero (named Phoebe), the origin of the outbreak. If Phoebe is not dealt with quickly, the infection will continue to spread uncontrollably, wiping out all of humanity. Every action and decision you make either brings you closer to or farther from the goal of containing the outbreak.

The infected vary in appearance, behavior, and threat level. Understanding the different types and how to best combat them will make or break your mission.



Special infected
🧠 Pro Tip: Prioritize Spitters and Jumpers first during any infected assault!

Each unit in Cepheus Protocol has a specific role to play in your tactical setup. From frontline fighters to vital support units, effective squad composition is a key to success.


Unit Rank Ups:
As units gain experience, they level up. A veteran unit with high ranks is more effective than several rookie soldiers. Protect your veterans at all costs!! They are your best hope when the situation gets dire.

Pro Tip: Always keep at least 1 vehicle squad ready to respond to breaches.

Your base is your lifeline. You must build, manage, and defend it while balancing your resources for both offense and defense.

Key Buildings

• Barracks: Train soldiers.
  
• Vehicle Bay: Build and repair vehicles.
  
• Research Lab: Unlock critical upgrades for your soldiers and base.
  
• Power Plants: Required to fuel your defenses.
  
• Supply Depots: Store materials.
  
• Infection Detectors: Spot hidden infection zones to prevent surprises.

Resource Management
Resources are scarce, so make every decision count. You can scavenge materials from abandoned civilian structures or rescue civilians to earn supplies. A well-managed supply line will help ensure that you don’t run out of crucial materials when you need them the most.

Resource Tip: Always build extra power plants early on. Running out of energy in the middle of a siege is a death sentence.

Research and upgrades play a vital role in your ability to survive and adapt to the escalating infection. Prioritize upgrades that enhance your soldiers, vehicles, and base defenses.

Priority Research
Early Game Focus:

• Infection Resistance: Boosts your soldiers' survivability against infection exposure in frontline engagements.
  
• Improved Rifles: Enhance your infantry’s lethality early to handle growing infected waves without suffering heavy casualties.
  
• Basic Medkits/Medic Efficiency: (Optional but highly recommended) Ensure your medics can keep pace with increasing damage.

Mid Game Focus:

• Vehicle Armor Upgrades: Reinforce your Humvees, APCs, and transport units against harder-hitting infected mobs.
  
• Automated Turrets: Fortify critical outposts with automated defenses to free up manpower and hold ground more efficiently.
  
• Advanced Supply Lines: Improve logistics to ensure rapid resupply and reinforcement for distant squads.

Late Game Focus:

• Artillery Systems: Gain the ability to hammer large infected clusters or elite units from long range, softening up targets before your squads engage.
  
• Containment Protocol Enhancements: Accelerate infection response times, improve tracking, and slow down the outbreak’s spread.

Research Strategy Tip: Always maintain a balance between offense and defense research to ensure you’re prepared for every situation.

Different maps require different strategies. Understanding the terrain, key chokepoints, and building layouts will give you the edge you need to survive.

Map Key Strategies

• Point Reyes: Early map. Focus on controlling the bridges and choke points. Hold them at all costs.

• Alcatraz Island: A defensible location, but the narrow passages make it vulnerable to flanking. Control both landing zones to prevent enemy infiltration.

• San Francisco: Urban combat requires tactical use of rooftops and alleyways. Use drones for reconnaissance and snipers for long-range engagements.

Fireteam Tactics:
Forming fireteams is one of the most efficient ways to move units and combat infected. A standard fireteam configuration (2 Riflemen, 1 Medic, 1 Support) covers a wide range of roles while maintaining flexibility.

Establish Rally Points:
Always have fallback positions. In the event of a breach, rally points give your soldiers a place to regroup and hold out until reinforcements arrive.

Expand Methodically:
Never get greedy by chasing down stragglers. Secure your position first before advancing further.

Camera Speed:
Lower the camera movement speed slightly to improve control over unit positioning and micro-managing during engagements. Smooth tracking makes a huge difference during tight fights.

Hotkey Setup:
Rebind group assignment and selection keys for faster tactical switching between squads. Having fast access to your assault teams, medics, or vehicles can shave critical seconds off your reaction time.

Disable Unit Auto-Chase:
Turn off auto-chase behavior to prevent your soldiers from blindly pursuing enemies into ambushes or overextending into danger zones. Full manual control keeps your squads disciplined and alive.

Display Tips:
Enable "Outline Enemies" — especially for nighttime operations. It dramatically improves your ability to track infected movements in low-light environments without constantly losing sight of threats.
Additional Tweaks:

• Minimap Zoom Out: Increase the minimap scale slightly to improve overall situational awareness.
  
• Alert Volume: Raise alert sounds slightly louder than ambient noise to catch warnings faster.
  
• Command Confirm Sounds: Enable sound feedback for issued orders to minimize misclicks during high-pressure situations.

Stage Squad Setup
Early Game 3 Riflemen + 1 Medic + 1 Engineer
Mid Game 2 Riflemen + 1 Sniper + 1 Heavy + 1 Medic
Late Game 2 Snipers + 2 Heavies + 1 Flamethrower + 1 AT Specialist

Vehicle Support Tip: Always match ground squads with at least 1 armored vehicle late-game.

• Ironman Mode: No reloads, no saves mid-mission.
  
• No Vehicle Challenge: Foot soldiers only.
  
• Pacifist Rescue: Save all civilians without losing a single one.
  
• Night Ops: Only deploy squads at night using NVGs and flares.

Overextending Early:
Expanding too fast without solidifying your hold will stretch your troops and supplies dangerously thin. A few isolated squads can easily be overwhelmed by even minor infected surges. Focus on securing and fortifying key zones before pushing outward.

Ignoring Infected Build-Up:
Failing to actively cull infected populations allows them to cluster and evolve into Special Infected. Once a critical mass is reached, you’ll face faster, deadlier enemies that require heavier firepower and tactical coordination to defeat. Never let an infected zone fester.

Forgetting Medics:
Medics aren’t a luxury — they are a survival requirement. For every squad of five soldiers, you should have at least one medic embedded. A wounded soldier without a medic becomes a dead soldier the next engagement. Keep your squads healthy and combat-ready.

Spreading Resources Thin:
Upgrading everything at once or spreading out your forces to cover every location weakens your overall defense. Prioritize: focus on choke points, critical resources, and strategic strongholds. Build deep, not wide.

Neglecting Recon and Intel:
Flying blind is fatal. Always use drones, scouts, or fast vehicles to survey ahead before committing your forces. Knowing where infected are massing or spotting special threats early can mean the difference between a clean sweep and a full retreat.

Building Poor Defense Layers:
Single-layered defenses (one line of barricades or a few turrets) are easily breached. Layer your defenses: barricades, mines, overlapping turret fire, and fallback points. Expect your outer walls to eventually fail and be ready for it.

Ignoring Soldier Promotions:
Veteran units with multiple promotions are exponentially stronger than fresh recruits. Protect your experienced troops at all costs, and rotate them out to heal if needed. Losing a veteran squad can cripple your mid-to-late game momentum.

Underestimating Phoebe:
Phoebe will adapt faster than you think. Underestimating her speed, her special units, or her spread can easily lead to surprise attacks or collapses of fortified positions. Never assume she's static always assume she’s moving and growing.

Drone Recon Before Every Assault: No exceptions. Always scout ahead with drones to understand the threat.

Build Spare Barracks and Vehicle Bays: If one is destroyed, you’ll need a backup to continue operations.

Rotate Squads In & Out: Prevent fatigue from compromising your team’s effectiveness. Fresh squads are better equipped to handle high-stress combat situations.

Engineer Squad Reinforcements: Use mobile turrets and deployable barriers to support your units in the field.

Cepheus Protocol is a game of survival, strategy, and execution. Your ability to adapt to evolving threats, make crucial decisions under pressure, and maximize the potential of your soldiers and resources will determine if humanity survives or falls.

You are not just a commander; you are humanity’s last hope. It’s up to you to lead your forces, outsmart the infected, and contain the outbreak before it consumes the world.

Stay sharp. Stay deadly. Stay alive.