Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Indie
Against the Storm
Embark on a journey in Cycles Reforged Update!
Greetings, Viceroys!
Embark on a Cycle-long journey toward the Ancient Seals. Grow your caravan, solve World Events, and plan your route to the ultimate goal!
We're very excited to finally share with you the extensive Cycle Overhaul that we've been testing on the Experimental Branch for the past few weeks.
Here's what's new:
New World Map System: Ancient Seals
New World Map System: the Viceroy's Caravan
New World Map System: World Map Events
New Upgrades: Faction Trade Routes
And more!
Check the recording of our recent livestream for an in-depth overview of the Cycle Overhaul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX9RWojQoiA
This update marks the first step of our extensive revamp of the meta layer and lays the groundwork for exciting new things to come in the future.
Continue reading for our detailed notes and the full changelog.
IMPORTANT: Due to numerous changes to the World Map layer, your current Cycle had to be force-finished and you’ll begin a new one. You will be given a choice to climb the Seal difficulty ladder either from the bottom (Settler difficulty) or from the difficulty level matching your highest won Prestige game. If you choose the latter, you will get all the rewards that you’d get for completing lower-level Seals.
Before we begin, we also have the pleasure to share that Against the Storm reached 500,000 players!
We are honored and humbled that so many of you have decided to embark on this thrilling expedition with us. From all of us at Eremite Games - thank you, Viceroys! It wouldn't be the same without you 💛
As you might have noticed, over the last couple of weeks we’ve been releasing somewhat smaller updates. That’s because, in the background, we’ve been hard at work on some exciting new stuff from our recently released extended Early Access roadmap - namely the Cycles Overhaul.
But before we move on to the changelog, let us first share some more detailed design notes on this new system - why we feel that this revamp was needed, how we approached fixing some pending problems on the World Map, and what the future holds for the meta layer of Against the Storm.
The problem
When we talk about the so-called “meta layer” of the game, we essentially mean everything that is not the pure city builder gameplay loop. For example - the World Map, leveling, Citadel upgrades, difficulty progression, meta resources, etc. Over the last couple of months, we gradually improved the moment-to-moment gameplay of Against the Storm, but the meta layer has unfortunately been left behind.
With the extended roadmap, we decided to focus our efforts on this neglected aspect of the game. However, the problem is that the whole meta layer of Against the Storm is already overwhelmingly vast, even in its current state, so we needed to split it up into smaller, bite-sized chunks and work on a single one of them at a time. And what better place to start this endeavor than the very foundation - the World Map and Cycles?
In the current version of the game, Cycles lack structure, risk, and goals, and the only challenge they pose is a rather dull system of influence ranking. There are no meaningful choices, nothing to strive for or explore on the World Map, and no potential failure state. We decided to try and address that in today’s update.
New System - Ancient Seals
The very first thing you will notice after launching the game is that the World Map is much larger and has 2 to 4 special fields on it, visible above the fog of war. These fields are the Ancient Seals - old, intricate structures built by a long-forgotten civilization, meant to hold a primeval, malevolent force at bay.
Unfortunately, the power of the Seals has gradually waned over the millennia, causing the mysterious Sealed Ones to slowly regain their hold on this world. Your goal as the Queen’s Viceroy isn’t just to establish settlements and collect resources anymore, but also to reforge these Ancient Seals and help the Crown protect the kingdom.
To reforge a Seal, you have to successfully establish a town right next to it. The Seals are surrounded by a special biome, the Sealed Forest, and are available only when a range of conditions are met:
The Blightstorm is almost there (the Cycle is ending);
A sufficient number of Seal Fragments were gathered (explained below);
The Seal is within the reach of your last town.
If you meet all of the above conditions, you have one chance (during this Cycle) to embark on the map with a Seal and try to reforge it (currently, the Sealed Forest looks like the Cursed Royal Woodlands and has placeholder effects, but it will get a unique look, music, and mechanic in one of the upcoming updates). Winning that game will grant you regular rewards for a run, a Citadel Resources bonus at the end of the current Cycle, and will increase the length of the Cycle by a few years (a one-time boost for each specific type of Seal).
The first condition is quite straightforward – you can only try to reforge a Seal at the very end of the Cycle. If for any reason you can’t or fail while doing it, the chance is lost and you will have to try again at the end of the next Cycle.
The second condition is Seal Fragments. The farther a Seal lies from the Smoldering City, the more damaged it is, and the more fragments are required to reforge it. Seal Fragments are obtained by winning games and can be picked as one of three possible rewards for playing near negative modifiers. Any leftovers at the end of the Cycle will be sold back to the Crown for Citadel Resources.
The last condition is distance. You must be within the embarkation range of a Seal to start a game there. This sounds pretty obvious but it is also closely connected to the changes in a Cycle’s structure described below.
New Systems - the Viceroy’s Caravan and World Events
From now on, your Viceroy’s party has a physical representation on the World Map once it leaves the Smoldering City, and you can only embark from your current location (your last successful settlement). That means each Cycle is one large expedition, one you must plan carefully if you hope to reach the next Seal and progress the world.
As you make your way across the world, you will encounter a completely new type of point of interest - World Events. Their main purpose is to offer some kind of decision or challenge, as well as make the World Map feel a lot more exciting and alive. Events are closely tied to a new mechanic - caravan upgrades - and by solving them, you will be rewarded with additional embarkation goods, villagers, or temporary buffs (as well as Seal Fragments, Embarkation Points, etc.). These will be added to all your starting caravans and influence your future settlements (but only for the duration of the current Cycle).
Modifiers also got a refresh in this update. Winning a game near a negative one will now give you a new special reward - the Royal Resupply. This is a choice of one of three bonuses:
Reserve Embarkation Points (a new pool of additional Embarkation Points for the entire Cycle, not replenishing after every game)
A temporary boost to your Embarkation Range
Additional Seal Fragments
There are also some smaller changes that influence your caravan’s journey through the World Map. For example, the map is now divided into difficulty rings, meaning that after reaching a certain distance, you will be required to increase the difficulty. Additionally, the modifier spawn rates have been adjusted, so that negative modifiers will appear more frequently on fields further away from the Citadel, and positive ones will have a higher chance of spawning on the first few fields from the Smoldering City. This might sound somewhat restrictive, but don't worry - the very first ring (Settler difficulty) is quite big and will have a chance of spawning all types of modifiers, so you won’t be locked out of any content.
With all these changes, we hope to create a more meaningful journey on the World Map, with things to discover and a sense of progression within a Cycle.
The future
Our main goal with this update is to create a strong foundation and structure for future releases. With the introduction of Seals, World Events, and the Viceroy’s Caravan, there are finally multiple mechanics and systems at play we can manipulate and adjust, creating meaningful decisions and stakes. We know that this is quite a big change, so as usual - we will keep an eye on feedback and adjust if necessary. As with every update to Against the Storm - nothing here is set in stone.
From here, the next step is rather obvious – a proper Sealed Forest biome with distinct aesthetics and a set of unique mechanics to ensure the Cycle ends with a proper climax. Then, if there is still time, we have two other systems in store that should satisfy both high-prestige players looking for the ultimate challenge, and everyone thirsty for lore, characters, and closure. But that is a story for another time. As always - thank you all for providing feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
P.S. If you've picked up Against the Storm and have been playing it, make sure to leave a Steam review! They help a lot!
Sealed Forest biome preview
And now it's time for a little surprise!
As we mentioned, it will take some time before we'll be able to deliver the new Sealed Forest biome. However, we can already share a sneak peek of the biome's visuals. Enjoy!
Sealed Forest (work in progress)
FAQ
If you're looking for even more information about the Update and the changes we made since the first Experimental Update, check out the Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: The Sealed Biome looks just like a regular biome. Is this intended? This Update focuses solely on the Cycle overhaul (which is the foundation for any future work). We've been working on the build-up, not the climax (yet). On the journey before destination (sorry/not sorry for the blatant Brandon Sanderson reference).
The current Sealed Biome is just a placeholder and we're already in the middle of designing a proper new biome with unique visuals, music, and a potential mechanic for reforging the Seal. We expect to deliver it in late July or early August (this is, of course, subject to change).
You can see a sneak peek of the new biome above.
Q: Is there any content gated behind difficulty zones? The World Map is divided into difficulty zones with each Seal marking the border of the particular difficulty. Playing farther away than the zone’s border will require you to play on a higher difficulty. The aim here is to:
Encourage players to amp up the difficulty as part of the game’s natural progression.
Prevent situations when it would be optimal to play the last games in a Cycle (before attempting to close the Seal) on lower difficulties to accumulate negative modifier bonuses.
No actual content is gated behind the difficulty. You can still encounter each of the game’s Modifiers within the Settler difficulty zone.
We consider adding cosmetic rewards for completing Seals in the future. In our conversations with players, this was generally agreed on to be rewarding enough for those who complete them and not a deal-breaker for players who don’t aim to play on higher difficulties. We encourage you to share your thoughts with us too!
Q: Why is it no longer possible to embark anywhere on the map? The main stimulus to work on the Cycle overhaul was the ever-repeated feedback that the World Map layer lacks depth and an overarching goal. We ourselves can’t agree more. There is no purpose, thrill, or stakes involved.
The journey towards the Seal is our vision for a Cycle-long mini-campaign that involves planning, decision-making, and a climax (reforging the Seal in the Sealed Forest).
On this journey, you’re growing your Caravan by engaging with World Map Events and overcoming Negative Modifiers. You’re also challenged by a geographical distance that separates you from the final goal of your quest.
We believe that a physical representation of your Caravan and an actual route on which you’re embarking not only fits thematically but also provides the much-needed depth and strategy to the World Map layer. Embarking from any point on the map (and not your Caravan position) would deprive the World Map layer of this depth.
Q: In the first Experimental Update, the Cycle was counted in games, not years. Why did you change it? Out of the two tested approaches, we decided to keep the existing Cycle length counted in years.
The discussions about this aspect were probably the most heated ones and we wholeheartedly admit that both approaches have merits and drawbacks. We eventually decided on a Cycle counted in years as this approach adds more depth to runs and introduces new decisions and consequences. It leaves a bit more room to maneuver if things take a turn for the worse and gives you an opportunity for a comeback.
To address the needs of players who sometimes prefer to play runs for fun, the Daily Expeditions (and Training Expeditions) don't affect the Cycle in any way and nor does continuing to play after winning the game.
Q: Do you plan to make more updates to the World Map layer? This Update is just the beginning of our planned changes to this layer of the game. Please don’t worry if some things seem a bit off and bare-bones.
We will continue to iterate the Cycle mini-campaign based on your feedback and the experiences of new players for whom this will be the first encounter with the World Map.
In the next couple of updates, we plan to implement UX improvements and unique imagery for each World Event. The number of World Events will grow as well.
And most importantly, we are now able to focus on the new Sealed Forest biome with its unique visuals, music tracks, and Seal reforging mechanic that we hope will provide a proper climax for the Cycle’s mini-campaign.
CHANGELOG
Number of changes: 63 Inspired by community: 41%
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
⚡ Added a new system to the World Map - Ancient Seals.
Ancient Seals can be found on the World Map. These intricate structures were built by a long-forgotten civilization, and it is believed that they hold a primeval, malevolent force at bay - the so-called Sealed Ones. Unfortunately, the power of the Seals has gradually waned over the millennia, causing the Sealed Ones to slowly regain their hold on this world. Your goal as the Queen’s Viceroy isn’t just to establish settlements and collect resources, but also to reforge these Ancient Seals and help the Crown protect the kingdom.
To reforge a Seal, you will have to journey towards it with your caravan, collect enough Seal Fragments on the way there (a new Cycle-specific meta resource gained by winning games and completing modifiers), and successfully settle right next to it at the very end of the Cycle. If you make it there much sooner, you can wait until the end of the Cycle by pressing the button in the lower right corner of the screen.
There are 8 types of Seals with distinct names and symbols. Each one requires more Seal Fragments and is located further away from the Smoldering City. At any given time, you can only see a maximum of four Seals on the World Map (two of the same type as the recently completed one, and two new ones). Successfully reforging a Seal will grant you additional Citadel Resources at the end of the Cycle and prolong the time between future Blightstorms by a few years.
At the end of a Cycle leftover Seal Fragments must be returned to the Crown (for an additional reward).
To attempt reforging a Seal, you have to:
Have enough Seal Fragments.
Be in range of the Seal.
Be at the end of the Cycle (you can skip to it now by pressing the button on the calendar).
Play at the minimum required difficulty level of the Seal (or higher).
Around the Seal, there is a special new biome - the Sealed Forest. It has unique effects and special resource distribution. This is meant as a “final battle” in a given Cycle.
For now, this biome has placeholder visuals and effects. It looks like the Cursed Royal Woodlands and has penalties to trade routes, farming, and fewer charges in nodes. All this will change in the coming weeks, with a dedicated Sealed Forest Update.
After winning a game in the Sealed Forest near a named Seal for the first time, the World Map will progress, spawning a new type of Seal (in addition to the previous one), and extending the Cycle duration by several years. Older Seals (below the tier of the two most recent ones) will not be spawned anymore.
If you are an experienced player who has already reached Prestige difficulties, you will get a dialogue box when launching the game for the first time after this update. There, you will be able to decide whether you want to start your Cycle progression from the beginning or skip to a Seal that matches your skills.
Added a new system to the World Map - the Viceroy’s Caravan.
From now on, your caravan has a physical representation on the World Map (shown by a marker) and you can only venture from your last successful town.
As you move through the map, you will be able to collect new resources, villagers, and effects for your caravan by completing negative Modifiers and World Events.
The minimum difficulty of a settlement is now tied to the distance from the Smoldering City on the World Map. This means that after reaching a certain point, you will no longer be able to play Settler runs, as only Pioneer and higher will be allowed. But don’t worry - the difficulty ranges are pretty big, so if you prefer to stay on Settler, you will have plenty of space to explore and modifiers and events to see.
There is also a new type of Embarkation Point - Reserve Embarkation Points. These can be used across multiple games in a Cycle (instead of being specific to one game like normal Embarkation Points). You can earn Reserve Embarkation Points through Negative Modifiers and World Events. The normal Embarkation Points are now called Base Embarkation Points.
Base Embarkation Points are no longer influenced by difficulty (previously, the pool would shrink the higher the chosen difficulty). From now on, they are affected only by the distance from the Smoldering City.
Added a new system to the World Map - World Events.
World Events are random encounters that can be found on the World Map.
All World Events offer some kind of decision or challenge. These can range from giving up a portion of the resources in your starting caravan in exchange for additional villagers, paying Seal Fragments for a temporary bonus, or winning a game by completing a special task for additional Embarkation Points.
Successfully completing a World Event will reward players with additional caravan goods, cycle-long effects, or shorter (one or two games) blessings.
World Events can also have negative consequences based on the player’s decision - lost caravan goods, cycle-long debuffs, or shorter (one or two games) curses.
With this update, we bring you 10 types of World Events (with more to come in the future). We won’t spoil them all in this changelog, but some notable encounters are: a Stormbird Egg, the Obsidian Loremaster, a Cloaked Wanderer, or a Hanged Viceroy.
In this update, World Events will have some repeated art assets attached to them. Our goal is to create unique illustrations for every scenario, but due to time constraints and possible changes/improvements to the system, custom encounter art for every event will arrive in the coming weeks.
Added a new type of Citadel Upgrade to the Smoldering City - Faction Trade Routes.
With the introduction of the new Seal system, factions were removed from the World Map and from the upgrade tree in the Smoldering City.
As a replacement, and as a way to help trading in the early stages of a Cycle, we added Faction Trade Routes to the game.
Factions will now act as independent settlements you can trade with, always located in the Smoldering City. Think of them as a district belonging to a faction.
This means that after buying all 3 faction upgrades, you will have 4 towns to trade with at the start of each Cycle.
Every faction has a unique variation of desired goods. These are mostly based on what a given faction would have a hard time producing (for example, the Brass Order are great metalworkers, but terrible farmers).
There are 3 faction upgrades in the Smoldering City now. They were mostly shuffled into the existing nodes of the upgrade tree (there was room due to the removal of the previous faction upgrade and one Town Vision upgrade). There is only one completely new upgrade level for the Monastery of the Vigilant Flame (on level 17), increasing the total number of upgrades in the game to 80.
The exact list of upgrade changes can be found in the balance section of this changelog.
Balance
⚡ Changed the way Modifiers are spawned on the World Map.
Positive Modifiers will now have a higher chance of appearing near the Smoldering City, and a lower chance of spawning far away.
Negative Modifiers have a higher chance of spawning further away from the Citadel, and a lower chance of appearing close to it.
This new system is not completely rigid, however. It only affects the spawn rates, but doesn’t prevent any Modifier from spawning at any distance (for example, negative Modifiers can still appear right next to the Citadel, the chances are just lower).
The main goal with this change is to further boost the clear difficulty progression of the World Map by making the first games in a Cycle a bit easier and faster, and the later ones a tad harder.
Adjusted starting caravans to make them more balanced and in line with the new system changes.
Changed the numerical spread of villagers in starting caravans. Now, the base number of villagers ranges from 6 to 8.
Changed the Embarkation Point price range for Planks - it’s now from 2 to 3 instead of a static 2.
Reshuffled the rewards in multiple Citadel Upgrades.
Obsidian Archive Level 7 - removed the faction unlock, added the Citadel Resource bonus.
Obsidian Archive Level 11 - removed the Citadel Resource bonus, added the Field Kitchen essential blueprint.
Dim Square Level 7 - removed the Field Kitchen essential blueprint, added the Amber Embarkation Bonus.
Brass Forge Level 6 - removed the Parts Embarkation Bonus, added the Brass Order faction unlock.
Brass Forge Level 8 - removed the Global Carrying Capacity bonus, added the Parts Embarkation Bonus.
Brass Forge Level 9 - removed the Amber Embarkation Bonus, added the Global Carrying Capacity bonus.
Pioneers’ Gate Level 3 - removed the Embarkation Range bonus, added the bonus to starting caravan goods.
Monastery of the Vigilant Flame Level 11 - new upgrade level, with the following rewards: Scrolls and Incense Embarkation Bonuses.
First Dawn Headquarters Level 4 - removed the Herbalists’ Camp Embarkation Bonus, added the First Dawn faction unlock.
First Dawn Headquarters Level 5 - removed the bonus to starting caravan goods, added the Herbalists’ Camp Embarkation Bonus.
Vanguard Spire Level 9 - removed the Scrolls and Incense Embarkation Bonuses, added the Vanguard of the Stolen Keys faction unlock.
Games won, lost, or abandoned before year 3 now always progress the Cycle by 3 years (to make it harder to avoid negative cycle effects by winning quick Settler games or abandoning settlements).
Erratum: During the livestream, we mentioned that winning the game in 1-2 years will only progress the Cycle by the said number of years, but that was a mistake. Every game will progress the Cycle at least 3 years forward. This was implemented to prevent cheesing and playing below your skill level to venture farther on the World Map.
UX/UI improvements
⚡ Cleaned up the perk HUD and implemented a new sorting method. Overall, the perk HUD should now be much easier to read at a glance.
The perk HUD will now sort effects and perks based on if they’re positive or negative first. Then, effects will be ordered by rarity (from Legendary to Common).
This change also brings with it a lot of tweaks to incorrectly labeled effects all over the game (working effects, perks, Cornerstones, Forest Mysteries, Consequences, etc.).
⚡ Changed the wording in the Shelter description in Polish to make it easier to understand.
⚡ Slightly nerfed the Stormforged version of the Hidden Reward Cornerstone. It now gives one Ancient Tablet instead of two.
Changed the World Map tutorial slightly to mention Ancient Seals. There are also contextual messages displayed when reaching the Seal for the first time to help players better understand the new system.
Added a new Encyclopedia entry about Ancient Seals. It will now also appear in the “read more” panel after the World Map tutorial.
Updated the Encyclopedia entry about Modifiers to now also include World Events.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with Fertile Soil being spawned on top of ore nodes.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Black Treasure Stag giving the player the Woodcutter’s Prayer Cornerstone as a reward.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the game taking away all Experience Points from completed Deeds then the level cap is increased on a profile already at max. Level.
⚡ Fixed an issue with some converted decorations (from glade events) not having removal confirmation popups when trying to destroy them.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Hearth overlay flashing on and off when pressing a building shortcut for a house multiple times.
⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the logistic lines in production buildings to still be visible after closing the building panel using ESC.
⚡ Fixed a missing translation for decoration tags in Polish.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the Japanese description of the Rainpunk Engines upgrade in the Smoldering City.
⚡ Fixed a few typos and inconsistencies in French (tooltip for declining Cornerstones, trader dialogue).
Fixed a stuttering animation in the Stamping Mill.
Fixed an issue with some Orders not taking rebuilt Haunted Ruins into account (for “own building” and “produce goods” objectives).
Fixed some incorrectly placed UI elements above decoration construction sites.
Other
Daily Expeditions and Training Expeditions no longer progress the Cycle.
During the livestream, we’ll walk you through the new systems (Ancient Seals, World Events, and Caravan upgrading) and other exciting new features and changes. We’ll also hold a Q&A session at the end to answer any potential questions related to the new update.
If you can’t join us live, the recording will be later uploaded to our YouTube channel, where we keep the Livestream Archive playlist with the recordings of all our streams.
We can’t wait to see you later today and kindly remind you that as usual, all the ongoing settlements will have to be force-finished (more information below).
ːwarmth_atsː IMPORTANT: Due to extensive changes to the World Map layer, your current Cycle will be force-finished as well and you’ll have to start a new Cycle.
You will keep your Level, Citadel Upgrades, Experience Points, and Citadel Resources.
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
How to prepare
We release new content Updates every two weeks on Thursdays around 1 pm – 3 pm UTC. As we make multiple changes to the game’s systems, balance, and content, the game needs to force-finish any settlements that are in progress when you download the update. This aims to prevent various game-breaking bugs that could occur otherwise.
IMPORTANT: If you have a settlement in progress, it will have to be force-finished when you download the Update. You will be reimbursed with Citadel Resources but you will have to start a new settlement. Your meta progress (that is: Experience, Level, completed Deeds, unlocked Upgrades, Citadel Resources, etc.) will remain intact.
In the main menu, under the “Play” button, there’s a countdown to upcoming Updates. Please finish your current settlement before the update day if you don’t want it to be completed automatically.
The upcoming Cycles Reforged Update will feature an extensive Cycle overhaul and will introduce Cycle-long expeditions during which you’ll encounter new World Map Events, collect Cycle-long perks, and plan your route toward the final challenge: Ancient Seals.
The Update is scheduled to be released on Thursday (June 22) between 1:00 pm UTC and 3:00 pm UTC.
ːwarmth_atsː IMPORTANT: Your current World Map Cycle will be force-finished and you’ll have to start a new Cycle.
As usual, your settlement save will also need to be force-finished, but your meta progression will remain intact. You will keep your Level, Citadel Upgrades, Experience Points, and Citadel Resources.
We will reshuffle a couple of Smoldering City Upgrades, so some of your previously purchased bonuses might move up the ladder, but instead, you’ll get the new bonuses that replaced them.
We need to force-finish your Cycle as we’re making significant systemic changes to the World Map layer that we’ve been testing with the community on the Experimental Branch for the past couple of weeks. We will share an extensive overview of the Update next week when it goes live.
The Cycles Reforged Update will lay the foundation for many-to-come improvements to the World Map layer.
Stay tuned for the next week’s Update notes and let us know if you have any questions!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
Experimental Update (Seals, Caravans)
Greetings, Viceroys!
Today, we’re presenting you with the new iteration of the Experimental Cycle Overhaul. We were closely looking at your feedback and discussing certain doubts with you. As a result, we introduce many systemic changes that aim to address them.
When it comes to the systems and balance, this version is very close to what we intend to release on the main branch next week. In the background, we’re working on the graphical aspects, improving the UX, and trying to make World Events more appealing, but the systems themselves are near final (with a caveat, that as with any other feature in the game, we’ll continue to tweak them during Early Access).
In multiple conversations happening over the past few weeks, we received many well-thought-out ideas and suggested approaches to certain elements of this system, though, many times conflicting with each other. We knew we’ll have a hard nut to crack and that we won’t ever be able to come up with a solution that would please everyone. So we sat down and discussed all the feedback we gathered and decided on an approach that we feel suits the game the most and has the best long-term potential.
You can find the full changelog and our additional thoughts on certain aspects below.
If you haven’t followed the recent changes to the Experimental Branch, these articles will get you up to speed: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3705945730836097132 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3674419898820262129 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3726210660308443444
Limited the number of Seals on the World Map to 4 at once.
There are 2 Seals of the same type as your last completed Seal, and there are 2 Seals of a new type (a bit further away, with a higher minimum difficulty).
Exceptions:
When you start a fresh Profile, there are only 2 Seals available (for Settler).
When you complete the last Seal, there are 2 Seals of the highest difficulty (for P20) and 2 Seals of the second highest difficulty (for P15 and higher difficulty) available.
Seal difficulty now works just like any other tile’s difficulty. The minimum difficulty is, like with any other field, determined by the distance from the Citadel.
Each Seal now has a unique name, look (currently placeholder art), and a set of rewards.
The difficulty level no longer influences the number of Embarkation Points.
Embarkation Points are now related to the distance from the Smoldering City. The farther you play, the fewer Embarkation Points you have. Affects only the Base Pool, not the Reserve Pool.
Added 3 new Smoldering City Upgrades, each unlocking a new Faction district (works as a town) to trade with.
Changed the numerical spread of villagers in Caravans. Currently, the base number of villagers ranges from 6 to 8.
Reverted the Embarkation Bonus price fluctuation changes of raw food and materials from the previous Experimental Update.
Changed how modifiers are spawned on the World Map. Positive modifiers are now more likely to appear around the Citadel, while negative ones will spawn further away (this isn’t a hard rule, negative modifiers might still spawn near the Smoldering City, just more rarely).
New changes
Limited Seals
We’re reducing the number of Seals from 16 to 4. From now on, you’ll only see the two Seals of the same difficulty as the one that you previously completed and two Seals of the next difficulty (with two exceptions listed in the changelog).
This should unclutter the map, provide a clearer goal for the Cycle, and prevent players from feeling taunted or overwhelmed by the Seals of much higher difficulty.
We’re also renaming the Seals. They will no longer include difficulty in their names as this led to negative pressure and incorrect assumption of content gating.
Caravans balance and Embarkation Points
We listened to your feedback regarding the recent changes to the Caravans balance, specifically to the number of Villagers and Embarkation Bonus costs. We reverted many of the Embarkation Bonus price fluctuations and increased the number of Villagers in caravans (it’s only 1 villager less than on the main branch).
We also made a significant change to the Embarkation Points Base Pool. It’s no longer dependent on the difficulty level but instead decreases as the distance from the Smoldering City grows.
Many of you rightly noted that the recent changes made the Cycle suffer from an inverted difficulty curve. Due to having an unupgraded Caravan and no Trade Routes, the first games in the Cycle were significantly slower.
By adding Faction districts that provide Trade Routes in the Smoldering City's proximity (unlocked by purchasing specific Smoldering City upgrades) and by changing the Embarkation Points distribution, we hope to address this feedback.
We also changed how World Map Modifiers are spawned - from now on, positive modifiers have a much higher chance of appearing close to the Citadel (and a lower chance of popping up further away). But this is not a hard rule by any means - you will still be able to encounter negative modifiers at the beginning of a Cycle (the chances for this are simply lower).
This should prevent early games from being slow-paced due to the reduced number of villagers and naturally increase the difficulty as you venture far into the untamed corners of the world.
Remaining systems
Difficulty zones
The World Map is divided into difficulty zones with each Seal marking the border of the particular difficulty. Playing farther than the zone’s border will require you to play on a higher difficulty.
This aims to:
Encourage players to amp up the difficulty bar as part of the game’s natural progression.
Prevent situations when it would be optimal to play the last games in a Cycle (before attempting to close the Seal) on lower difficulties to accumulate Negative Modifier Bonuses.
No actual content is gated behind the difficulty. You can still encounter each of the game’s Modifiers within the Settler difficulty zone.
We consider adding cosmetic rewards for completing Seals in the future. In our conversations with players, this was generally agreed on to be rewarding enough for those who complete them and not a deal-breaker for players who don’t aim to play on higher difficulties. We encourage you to share your thoughts with us too!
Cycle in Years
Out of the two tested approaches, we decided to keep the existing Cycle length counted in years.
The discussions about this aspect were probably the most heated ones and we wholeheartedly admit that both have merits and drawbacks. We eventually decided on a years-long Cycle as this approach adds more depth to runs and introduces new decisions and consequences. It leaves a bit more room to maneuver if things take a turn for the worse and gives you an opportunity for a comeback.
To address the needs of players who sometimes prefer to play runs for fun, the Daily Expeditions (and Training Expeditions) don't affect the Cycle in any way and nor does continuing to play after winning the game.
Embarking from the last Settlement.
The main stimulus to work on the Cycle overhaul was the ever-repeated feedback that the World Map layer lacks depth and an overarching goal.
We ourselves can’t agree more. There is no purpose, thrill, or stakes involved.
The journey towards the Seal is our vision for a Cycle-long mini-campaign that involves planning, decision-making, and a climax (reforging the Seal in the Sealed Biome).
On this journey, you’re growing your Caravan by engaging with World Map Events and overcoming Negative Modifiers. You’re also challenged by a geographical distance that separates you from the final goal of your quest.
We believe that a physical representation of your Caravan and an actual route on which you’re embarking not only fits thematically but also provides the much-needed depth and strategy to the World Map layer. Embarking from any point on the map (and not your Caravan position) deprives the World Map layer of this depth.
Future
This is most likely the last Experimental Update before the Cycle Overhaul goes live on the Main Branch. As we have a much clearer vision now than we had at the beginning of the Experiment, we started working on multiple much-needed UX improvements (such as informing about the rewards for completing each Seal) and graphic assets (like a proper visual representation of Seals on the World Map). We will also expand the World Map Events system by adding new encounters, increasing the number of decisions, and rebalancing rewards.
Most importantly, it’s just the beginning of our planned changes to this layer of the game. Please don’t worry if some things seem a bit off and bare-bones.
We will closely monitor all the new feedback for this version, so please let us know how you feel about the changes.
We will continue to iterate the Cycle mini-campaign when it goes live on the main branch. We’ll get the much-needed feedback from the new players for whom this will be the first encounter with the World Map layer.
And most importantly, we are now able to focus on the new Sealed Biome with its unique visuals and Seal reforging mechanic that we hope will provide a proper climax for the Cycle’s mini-campaign.
If you decide to play the Experimental Update, please share your thoughts with us!
Primarily, we are interested in your answers to the following questions:
Do early Cycle games feel more dynamic?
Do you feel that the farther from the Smoldering City, the harder it gets?
How do you feel about progressing your Caravan through the Cycle?
Have you found the journey toward the Seals compelling?
Did you feel there were interesting decisions to make on the World Map?
Is there anything about these new mechanics that makes the gameplay feel worse (especially more repetitive) or better (especially more diverse)?
It would mean a lot to us if you decided to give it one more try and share your impressions with us. We wish you a lot of fun with this new update and can't wait to hear from you!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
The current Experimental Branch version is 0.53.02E.
Hotfix 0.52.2 (Shortcuts, Tooltips)
Greetings, Viceroys!
Thank you for playing the latest update and sharing your feedback. We just released a small hotfix that deals with the reported issues. Thank you for your swift reports!
Changelog:
Fixed a bug with building shortcuts not being remembered between sessions.
Fixed an issue with building shortcuts not being possible to set to "none".
Fixed a bug that caused some resource tooltips to be incorrectly formatted.
Fixed a bug with some building shortcuts playing a placeholder sound when used.
Fixed a bug with the Stormforged version of the Secure Trail Cornerstone being named incorrectly.
Fixed an issue with guaranteed Embarkation Goods not being applied to a game in some cases right after purchasing the corresponding Upgrade.
Fixed an issue with trees having incorrect tooltip descriptions in multiple biomes.
Fixed a bug with plus signs being rotated incorrectly in the worker overlay.
Today’s update is a bit smaller than usual and mostly focused on quality of life, as in the background, we’re still hammering away at the new Cycle revamp (you can test an early version of it on the Experimental Branch). Although there is a moderate amount of new content, we think you will be happy to hear that we took some time in the past two weeks and implemented a lot of community-requested UI features. So without further ado, let's get into it.
First off, the new content. We added one new glade event - the Obelisk. It can only be found in small glades and can be salvaged or turned into a decoration which slightly lowers Hostility. This is part of our ongoing effort to make small glades a bit more interesting and balanced, and you can expect more small events in the future. What’s more, we also added new haunted ruins that can be found in Dangerous and Forbidden Glades. If you were unlucky enough to never encounter this type of building in the game before - it’s a unique structure that is harder to rebuild than a normal ruin but offers a big reward for doing so (for example rebuilt haunted production buildings have all recipes at a 3-star rating). We decided to expand the roster of haunted ruins (by adding 8 new ones) and slightly increase the chances of finding them in the forest.
Obelisk
With this update, we also bring you 15 new Stormforged Cornerstones you can buy in the Forsaken Altar. But unfortunately, this addition comes at a price (like most things tied to the Forsaken Gods), and we first had to remove 12 old perks. Why did we decide to do this? Because there were two main issues with the Altar. Firstly, the progress of Cornerstones with a counter (for example everything that triggers after reaching a production threshold) didn’t carry over. This was very frustrating, and extremely hard to fix due to technical limitations. Secondly, some of the perks were too conservative with their bonuses, and quite honestly, just uninteresting (especially considering how much they cost). So with that in mind, we decided to refresh the Altar a bit and make it more viable for Prestige players. As always, nothing here is final, and we will adjust the balance in the future.
Speaking of balance, there’s quite a lot of it in this update. We reshuffled level-up rewards (mostly Cornerstones) to create a better experience for low-level players (by moving more complicated perks higher up the level range and unlocking more straightforward bonuses at level 0). We also took a better look at service buildings in an effort to make them more appealing and viable. Most notably, by adding specialization tags (Warmth and Brewing) to some of them, changing the worker numbers in the Market, changing the passive effect in the Temple, and improving the wording in effect tooltips in the Clan Hall and Guild House. We also introduced an Amber reward for declining Cornerstones in the popup at the start of each year, so now if there is nothing interesting to choose from, you can always just take a small cash injection to help your settlement.
Finally, let’s talk about UI changes. In this update, we added several exciting new usability features, like a game history tab in the Smoldering City, a meta upgrade summary, a button on the HUD to remove all woodcutters, building shortcuts, a list of needs in species tooltips in the Embark View, an auto pause function on trader departure, and much, much more. You can read up on the details of these additions in the changelog below.
Game history and Citadel Upgrades summary
Unassign all Woodcutters
Building Shortcuts
As always - thank you all for providing feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
Haunted Lizard House - with space for 6 residents.
Haunted Fox House - with space for 6 residents.
Haunted Harpy House - with space for 6 residents.
Added 15 new Stormforged variants of existing Legendary and Epic Cornerstones.
Alarm Bells (Stormforged) - The Brass Order's newest invention - an intricate system of sensors that can detect Corruption before it spreads too much. Workers have a +30% higher chance of producing double yields when the Hearth's Expected Corruption Rate is 100% or higher.
Firekeeper's Prayer (Stormforged) - Glade event work speed increased by 30%. Resources you sacrifice in the Ancient Hearth burn 30% longer.
Firelink Ritual (Stormforged) - There is nothing the forest hates more than fire. Every 3 villagers with the need for religion fulfilled decrease the forest’s Hostility by -30.
Generous Rations (Stormforged) - Global Resolve is increased by 5, and villagers have a 10% chance of not consuming food during a break.
Mushroom Seedlings (Stormforged) - All farms can plant Mushrooms (3 stars) on farm fields during drizzle season.
No Quality Control (Stormforged) - Gain +2 to wood production. After each storm, all stored wood is removed, and you get 150 Insects in return.
Old Fedora Hat (Stormforged) - An old inscription on the bottom of the hat says: "Fortune and glory". Increases the chance of bringing back twice as much from Glade Events by 75%.
Queen's Gift (Stormforged) - A mysterious Amber orb with a magical flame trapped within. Increases the Ancient Hearth's resistance by +100 for every Impatience point you have.
Rebellious Spirit (Stormforged) - The people are feeling oddly rebellious. Gain +1 Global Resolve for every 1 Impatience Point.
Survivor Bonding (Stormforged) - The people in your settlement have survived many hardships, bringing them closer together (+20% villager speed, 3 Global Resolve).
Woodpecker Technique (Stormforged) - Gain 5 Insects every time woodcutters cut down a tree during the Storm.
Force of Nature (Stormforged) - The forest and the everlasting rain are connected somehow. Gain +4 to Storm Water production for every 2 Woodcutters in your settlement.
Secure Trail (Stormforged) - Royal Stormwalkers secured the trail to your settlement. Newcomers will arrive +33% quicker and bring 25% more goods with them.
Lost in the Wilds (Stormforged) - Gain one villager every time you discover a new glade. Villagers add less Hostility (-1).
Hidden Reward (Stormforged) - Gain 2 Ancient Tablets for every completed Glade Event. (the bonus is added retroactively)
Balance
⚡ Declining a Cornerstone in the yearly reward popup will now give Amber.
⚡ Rebalanced the Land Tax Prestige Modifier (Prestige 19). Opening small glades now costs 2 Amber, and opening dangerous or forbidden glades costs 6 Amber (previously all glades cost 5 Amber, regardless of type).
⚡ Added Resolve specialization tags to some service buildings.
Warmth (Lizard) - Clan Hall, Temple, Monastery.
Brewing (Human) - Tavern, Monastery, Forum.
⚡ The Market Carts effect in the Market now activates if two workers are assigned (instead of one). The additional effect in the Holy Market now triggers if one worker is assigned.
⚡ The Market now has a maximum of two workers instead of three.
⚡ Changed the passive effect of the Temple.
Sacrament of the Flame - There can be nothing more sacred than a flame in a world soaked with rain. Every 300 seconds you sacrifice goods in the Ancient Hearth (multiplied by the number of active sacrifice stacks), Hostility is permanently reduced by 20 (the bonus is added retroactively).
⚡ Changed the requirements of the Fresh Breeze Forest Mystery to avoid overlap with the Invigorating Winds effect. It now requires Housing instead of both Housing and Food.
The Hallowed Small Farm and Herb Garden (rebuilt haunted ruins) no longer have an additional recipe. Instead, they now have an increased number of worker slots (3 instead of 2).
Removed 12 Stormforged variants of Legendary and Epic Cornerstones from the Forsaken Altar.
Over-Diligent Woodworkers
Small Press
Dye Extractor
Deep Pockets
Vineyard Town
Copper Extractor
Leftover Crops
Spices
Training Grounds
Mold Grain
Free Samples
Urban Planning
These Stormforged perks were removed because of two main reasons. Most of them were not too exciting, and all of them were progress-related (for example the bonus activated after reaching a certain production threshold). The latter was causing some confusion, as due to technical limitations, we didn’t carry over the perk progress between normal perks and their Stormforged upgrades.
To make up for removing 12 perks from the Forsaken Altar, we added 15 new ones (described in the “New content and features” section above).
Rebalanced some Cornerstones.
Alarm Bells - lowered the Expected Corruption requirement to 150% and increased the double production bonus chance to 20%.
Deserted Caravans - this perk no longer blocks trade for a 50% production speed increase. It now slows down trader arrival by 50% and increases production speed by 33%.
Overexploitation - increased the bonus to small nodes from +10 charges to +15.
Force of Nature - increased the bonus to Storm Water production from +1 to +2 for every 2 Woodcutters.
Economic Migration - decreased the threshold required to trigger the newcomer speed bonus from every 2 levels of standing to every 1 level.
Prosperous Settlement - increased the amount of Amber required to trigger the bonus from 40 to 45.
Smuggler’s Visit - slightly lowered the drop rate.
⚡ Reshuffled some level-up rewards.
This change is mostly related to Cornerstones. We wanted to move some less exciting and complex perks to level 0 (available from the start), and unlock the more complicated ones (or the ones related to more advanced systems, such as Rainpunk) higher up the level range.
We also made one change to building unlocks - the Paved Road is now granted at level 3 (previously level 2), and the Mine is unlocked at level 2 (previously level 3).
You can now see your previously played games summarized in a list.
The game history is limited to the last 20 games.
The summary panel shows the following information:
game type (regular, custom, daily),
difficulty,
game time,
number of years,
biome,
player level,
meta progress,
species numbers,
cornerstones and perks,
blueprints,
modifiers,
forest mysteries,
victory or loss
⚡ Added a summary of Citadel Upgrades to the Citadel UI (in the Game History view).
The summary lists all numerical increases from the upgrade tree (like Embarkation Points, Caravan Slots, Building Storage, etc.)
The summary only shows bonuses, without the base value (because base values might change depending on the game type, modifiers, etc.)
⚡ Added an “unassign all woodcutters” button to the main HUD.
The button is located next to the Hostility meter.
Left-clicking it will unassign all woodcutters.
Right-clicking will assign one new random woodcutter to a free worker slot.
Hovering over the button will display an explanatory tooltip with the number of assigned woodcutters and overall worker slots in Woodcutters’ Camps.
⚡ Notifications on the HUD can now be closed with right-click.
Please keep in mind that there are still a few “state alerts” (notifications without an “x” symbol next to them, informing about potentially devastating issues in the settlement), and these are still non-dismissible (they only disappear when a threatening state is over).
⚡ Selecting a house will now display the Hearth range indicator.
⚡ Added a tooltip when hovering over the “x” button above ingredients in a building’s internal storage (stating that they will be returned to the main storage if the button is clicked).
⚡ Added building shortcuts to the option menu.
You can now assign any building to a key on your keyboard.
Pressing said key will automatically select the building for construction (if you own the blueprint).
There are 10 building shortcut slots in total for now.
⚡ Hovering over a species in the Embark View will now list its needs in the tooltip.
⚡ Added a progress bar to the worker overlay (ALT by default) for glade events that are being worked on.
⚡ Added the option to set an automatic pause right before a trader leaves the town.
⚡ Changed the description of the Treasure Stag to more clearly explain how it works.
⚡ Changed the tooltip of the Rotting Wood Forest Mystery. It now has its lore section before the effect description.
⚡ Changed the wording of the Ancient Ways effect in the Clan Hall to avoid too much thematic overlap with Foxes.
Changed the way some perks and service building effects work (The Crown Chronicles, The Guild's Welfare, Vitality, Prosperous Settlement). They no longer add Resolve in the form of a new effect on the perk HUD (for example as a stack of the Wealth effect), but instead show gains in their tooltip.
Resource tooltips will no longer list rebuilt haunted ruins. This change was made to reduce unnecessary clutter, as haunted buildings have the same recipes as their regular counterparts.
Game stats (games won, lost, etc.) were moved to the new Game History tab.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with villagers getting stuck trying to reach a cache near the edge of a glade.
⚡ Fixed an issue with fertile soil sometimes being located under trees when spawned together with farm ruins in undiscovered glades.
⚡ Fixed an issue with effects spawning fertile soil sometimes placing it under objects (like geysers).
⚡ Fixed a bug with Wandering Merchants causing old trader notifications to reappear on the HUD.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the reveal effect icon (from species abilities) being partially covered by glade markers.
⚡ Fixed a bug with some need-based Cornerstones (like Well Rested Workers) being offered to the player even if there is no species with a given need in the settlement.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Geyser Pumps and Rain Collectors not displaying production times influenced by perks and bonuses.
⚡ Fixed an issue with extinct species showing all needs as met.
⚡ Fixed an issue with Distillery and Tinctury being named the same in French, Italian, and Spanish
⚡ Fixed a typo in the description of sacrifice duration effects in French.
⚡ Fixed an issue with some effects being called the same in Japanese (Steel Pickaxes and Steel Mattocks, Rotten Rain and Corrosive Rainfall).
⚡ Fixed a typo in the name of the Burnt to a Crisp Cornerstone in Spanish.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the description of the Beacon effect in German.
Fixed a bug that caused the entrance icon to stay visible after closing a building panel with ESC.
Fixed an issue with text being incorrectly formatted in the specific tooltip in some languages.
Fixed an issue with missing decoration tags for the Harmony Spirit Altar in some languages.
Other
⚡ Added unique short descriptions to all types of trees in the game (previously they all stated “a perfect source of wood” regardless of biome).
Rebuilt haunted ruins now have a faint glow to show that the building is of higher quality.
Don't hesitate to reward those creations with your Steam Points. We also encourage you to award members of the Steam Discussions for being helpful and kind.
For more artwork and memes, visit Steam, Discord, and Reddit. [/expand] Have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the new update!
With the new Update, we’re bringing you plenty of commonly-requested UX improvements, such as the Unassign All Woodcutter button, the event working time progress bar, and many more! Tune in today, to discover all the new things before the update goes live tomorrow.
Livestream Archive
In response to your requests, we also uploaded the recordings of the previous livestreams to our YouTube channel. We will update the Livestream Archive playlist with new recordings after the streams so that you can rewatch them in case you can't join us live.
We hope to see you later today and as always we remind you to prepare for the upcoming update by finishing your current settlements. If this is your first Against the Storm update, please check out a short update guide below
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
How to prepare
We release new content Updates every two weeks on Thursdays around 1 pm – 3 pm UTC. As we make multiple changes to the game’s systems, balance, and content, the game needs to force-finish any settlements that are in progress when you download the update. This aims to prevent various game-breaking bugs that could occur otherwise.
IMPORTANT: If you have a settlement in progress, it will have to be force-finished when you download the Update. You will be reimbursed with Citadel Resources but you will have to start a new settlement. Your meta progress (that is: Experience, Level, completed Deeds, unlocked Upgrades, Citadel Resources, etc.) will remain intact.
In the main menu, under the “Play” button, there’s a countdown to upcoming Updates. Please finish your current settlement before the update day if you don’t want it to be completed automatically.
We’re back with a new iteration of the Experimental Branch. This time we’re presenting you with Events - new World Map activities that will reward you for completing additional challenges (or penalize you for failing to do so!). We also updated the Experimental version with the new content from the main branch’s Fishman Soothsayer Update.
The new changes are a part of the ongoing Experimental Cycle Overhaul. If you haven’t followed the recent updates, here are the update notes that will bring you up to speed: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3674419898820262129 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3726210660308443444
World Map Events
One of the main problems with the current implementation of the World Map is that there is very little to explore. Apart from relatively passive Chests, the only thing you can discover are Modifiers. With today's update, we aim to explore the possibility of introducing events that offer interesting decisions on the world layer and have consequences lasting throughout the entire Cycle. To engage with an Event, you need to discover it on the World Map and click on it. If you don't interact with the event, it will disappear from the World Map when you return to it after the next run.
Caravan Upgrades & Embarkation Rebalance
Alongside the World Map Events, today's update introduces a new system: Caravan Upgrades. Although the initial caravans can be smaller than the previous baseline, you can now collect additional villagers, goods, and perks throughout the Cycle. In addition, there will be a higher fluctuation in Embarkation Points prices of the Embarkation Bonuses.
Changelog
Added 10 World Map Events.
Added the Caravan Upgrade system.
Added a cycle-long perk HUD in the lower left part of the world map.
Factions are disabled for now.
World Map chests were removed.
Decreased the number of people in starting caravans at the beginning of a Cycle.
Decreased the number of goods in starting caravans at the beginning of a Cycle.
Increased price fluctuations for Embarkation Bonuses.
⚡ Added a confirmation popup when skipping the Cycle.
⚡ The Seal tooltip now displays rewards for closing a Seal.
⚡ Lowered the number of Seal Fragments required to start P5, P10, and P15 Seals.
⚡ P20 games now grant more Seal Fragments.
⚡ Changed the initial World Map setup so it no longer spawns the same three Bandit Camp modifiers.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the World Map Modifier tooltip covering some popups.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the completed Seal tooltip in the Cycle Summary showing incorrect rewards.
⚡ Fixed a bug with a missing string in orders tied to valuable trade routes.
⚡ Fixed a bug with incorrect Embarkation Point numbers on higher difficulty levels.
Fixed a bug with Daily Expeditions and Training Expeditions games influencing the Cycle calendar.
Future
If the new World Map events become an integral part of the game, you can expect we’ll add new ones in the future. We also aim to enrich them with unique imagery.
With this update, we didn’t make changes to some of the often-disputed aspects, such as the Cycle progression (Years vs Games). It doesn’t mean we’ve settled on a particular solution. It simply wasn’t a part of this iteration.
It's hotfixin' time! We took care of some of the reported bugs that occurred after yesterday's update and we increased the burning duration of Oil and Wood.
Changelog:
Increased the burning duration of Wood from 10 seconds to 12.
Increased the burning duration of Oil from 20 seconds to 25.
Fixed a bug with the Worker Overlay (ALT) showing up above incorrect buildings and events.
Fixed a bug with the "catch" option of the Black Treasure Stag sometimes not removing Cornerstones.
Fixed an issue with the game unpausing by itself after quitting the Trading Post and selecting buildings.
Fixed a bug with fertile soil still being spawned under trees in some cases (except when spawned together with ruined farms - we will fix that later, as this requires a change to the ruin spawn system).
Fixed an incorrect text in the Traditional Chinese description of the Airbender effect.
Fixed a bug that caused Hostility to go into negative values after completing the Fishman Soothsayer event.
Fixed a bug with tooltips for Forest Mysteries not appearing in the Training Expedition UI.
Thank you for giving the new update a try already and reporting the issues. We wish you lots of fun with the new version and hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Our new reports speak of the Fishman Soothsayer. He does not speak, though you can hear his voice. His eyes are blank, yet you can feel his gaze. He is not afraid of death, he stands by its side.
Continue reading for our design insights and the full changelog.
DEVELOPER NOTES
Two weeks ago, we unveiled the new roadmap and announced the next big feature coming to Against the Storm - the Cycle overhaul. While we’re still not ready to release it, you can already help us test an early iteration of this system on the Experimental Branch. In the meantime, we bring you a new update to the main branch – the Fishman Soothsayer Update – with a new glade event, numerous balance changes, and a whole host of highly requested UI improvements.
Let’s first talk about the new event. As the name of this update suggests, it’s the Fishman Soothsayer - a mysterious wandering fortune teller. He can only be found in Forbidden Glades, and offers a very unique reward for those brave enough to challenge him - the Airbender perk, which increases the Hostility threshold for all negative Forest Mysteries (so for example, Looming Darkness will now activate at Hostility 1 instead of 0). This is also the first time ever when we show a fishman NPC in the game (face reveal, yay!), and a step in the direction of making other fishmen events more interesting by adding more life to them (soon™).
Fishman Soothsayer Capture decision
Fishman Soothsayer Foretell decision
For this update, we also decided to take a closer look at some pending balance issues. The biggest changes are related to trading, packs of goods, and mining, with some minor adjustments in rainwater production, newcomer numbers, and citadel resource acquisition during settlement runs. Let’s first talk a bit more in detail about trading and the pack economy.
Packs of Goods are an unusual type of resource. They are required in a lot of orders and can be used for fueling trade routes, but aside from that, they’re not really produced to the same extent as other goods in a settlement (there is no real reason to stockpile them or to be excited about a high tier pack recipe in a drafted building). That’s why we decided to give the pack economy a little push and pivot it slightly into a more trading-focused direction.
From now on, packs will always be profitable to make (there won’t be any trade value loss even when making them on tier 0), and neighboring settlements will have a higher chance of buying packs through trade routes. Additionally, their value has been significantly increased across the board. This, combined with some smaller trading changes (a slight increase in the value of raw food, general price rebalancing, and smaller stack sizes in trader inventories) should make them more attractive to players trying to make a trading-focused build.
The other big balance change worth talking about in greater detail is related to mining. There has been quite a lot of feedback about how ore is spawned under trees or is too scattered to comfortably build a 3x3 mine on top of it. We finally decided to change that. Ore will now always be confined to a 3x3 square, and will never again appear underneath a tree. You might be asking - why was this even a thing in the first place? Well, when first designing the mining system in Against the Storm, our initial idea was to give players a small optimization problem to solve when placing a mine. But since then a lot has changed (for example ore deposits are no longer infinite), and this somewhat interesting puzzle turned into a tedious affair. It’s high time we changed that.
Lastly, before we move on to the more detailed changelog, let’s mention some of the UI improvements coming with this update. Most notably, we changed how resources are displayed in the Embark Panel (goods present in every caravan are now displayed on a tooltip), added specialization icons to the worker overlay, introduced a highlight to resource tooltips when a rebuilt ruin can produce something, cleaned up effect labels (in Cornerstones, perks, service building effects, etc.), improved the wording in some Orders related to trade routes, added a shortcut to the Consumption Control panel, and much, much more. We also fixed a lot of bugs, as is tradition with every bi-weekly update.
Caravan resources
Workers overlay specializations
Thank you all for providing feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
P.S. If you've picked up Against the Storm and have been playing it, make sure to leave a Steam review! They help a lot!
CHANGELOG
Number of changes: 76 Inspired by community: 69%
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
⚡ Added a new forbidden glade event.
Fishman Soothsayer - An old wandering soothsayer, seething with magic. He does not speak, though you can hear his voice. His eyes are blank, yet you can feel his gaze. He is not afraid of death, he stands by its side.
Balance
⚡ Changed the ore balance and how it’s spawned in glades.
Ore no longer appears under trees.
It’s now always contained in a 3x3 square.
Adjusted spawn rates in biomes with more than one type of ore (Marshlands). It should be a bit harder now to find both Coal and Copper in the same spot.
⚡ Changed how fertile soil is spawned in glades. It should no longer appear hidden under trees.
⚡ The Black Treasure Stag no longer gives Cornerstones with significant drawbacks.
⚡ Added Porridge to traders who sell/buy food items.
⚡ Rebalanced the Pack of Goods economy (Pack of Building Materials, Pack of Crops, Pack of Provisions, Pack of Trade Goods, and Pack of Luxury Goods).
All packs are now worth a lot more.
Increased the trade value return rate for all pack recipes. This means that even when making packs with a tier 0 recipe, the value of the created item will be higher than the sum of its ingredients.
Increased the number of packs bought by other settlements in trade routes. Every biome town now has 3 types of packs it’s willing to buy.
The Smoldering City now buys almost all types of packs (except Packs of Provisions, which are used to fuel trade routes).
Our goal with this change was to make packs a bit more interesting and profitable to play with, as right now they are mostly just crafted when an Order requires it. We wanted to move them a bit more into a space where they can be a viable option in trading-focused builds.
Decreased the amount of food sold by all traders. They will still have the same types, but in smaller quantities (for example: 50 instead of 70).
Slightly increased the value of raw food items (both when selling and buying).
Slightly increased the difference between the sell and buy value of food in general (by around 10%).
Our goal with this (and the other food economy adjustments listed above) was to make it a bit harder to flat out buy food for an entire year or two when you’re not specialized in trading or exploring (as well as encourage a bit more exploration in search of nodes). At the same time, due to the changes to packs, this theoretical nerf should be offset by dipping even slightly into a more trading-focused type of gameplay.
Slightly rebalanced the prices of multiple resources. The goal here was to normalize the trade value return rates (how much it costs to make an item vs. how much it can be sold for). In general, most items are crafted at a small loss on tier 0, and with no value gain on tier 1 (everything above is increasing the value).
Rebalanced the burning rates of resources in the Hearth (as well as the Hearth’s fuel limit and the Firekeeper’s carrying capacity).
Wood now burns for 10 seconds instead of 15 seconds.
Oil now burns for 20 seconds instead of 30 seconds.
Coal and Sea Marrow now burn for 40 seconds instead of 60 seconds.
Firekeepers can now carry 10 items at once (instead of 5).
This change was done to slightly increase the upkeep cost of Hearths, as currently, it’s a bit too easy to have multiple in one settlement. Additionally, Firekeepers transporting more goods should decrease the likelihood of negative fuel rate effects triggering “no fuel” warnings (even if a Firekeeper decides to take a break in the meantime).
Increased the production time for all rainwater types in rain collectors (from 15 to 20 seconds) and geyser pumps (from 10 to 15 seconds).
Slightly decreased the maximum possible number of newcomers for each year.
For example, previously in year 3, you would get between 3 and 6 villagers. Now it’s 3 and 5.
Removed Citadel Resources earnable during settlement runs (from perks or events).
While finding Citadel Resources in chests in the middle of the forest can be pretty exciting, we decided to remove this type of reward because it was having a negative effect on the game’s flow as a whole (by encouraging artificially prolonged runs and causing confusion about resource acquisition after a victory).
Reduced the number of workers in the Beanery from 4 to 3.
Lowered the Hostility reduction in the Converted Altar of Decay effect from 25 to 20 per dead villager.
UX/UI improvements
⚡ Goods in the Embark Panel are now divided into base goods (same for every caravan) and caravan-specific resources.
⚡ Added specialization icons to the worker overlay (ALT).
⚡ Resource tooltips now take rebuilt ruins into account when highlighting owned buildings.
⚡ Orders that require completing a high-value trade route now show the exact value on the HUD.
⚡ Added a highlight to need icons in the Species HUD when all members of a given species have the need fulfilled.
⚡ Added the option to move between buildings with the arrow keys when hovering over them (without the need to open the building UI).
⚡ Added a shortcut for opening the Consumption Control Panel (“I” by default).
⚡ Cleaned up the terminology in effect labels to clearly show what an effect is and where it came from (Cornerstones, regular perks, biome effects, working effects, event consequences, decoration effects, service building effects, etc.).
⚡ Changed the wording on Forest Mysteries that scale based on Hostility (to make it clearer what the exact value of the penalty will be).
⚡ Added tank capacity to the descriptions of rain collectors and geyser pumps.
⚡ Clearance sunbeams can now be disabled in the options menu (using the “lightning flashes” checkbox).
⚡ Added a new Encyclopedia entry about services. This entry will also be displayed as an alert during the tutorial (when building a Tavern for the first time).
⚡ The Drizzle auto pause will no longer stop Cornerstone choices from appearing (previously you had to unpause to get them).
⚡ Changed the wording of the Forsaken Gods Temple modifier to more clearly describe its effect.
⚡ Changed the description of the “discover Dangerous Glades in time” Order objective to also mention Forbidden Glades.
⚡ Changed the “Other Negative” icon’s color in the species panel (from blue to red).
Added a “request a feature” button to the ESC menu. Clicking it will take you directly to our Feature Request Tool, where you can post and vote on other people’s suggestions.
Changed the wording in multiple descriptions tied to fuel consumption effects (to make them more easily understandable).
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with Foxes not being drawn for Daily Expeditions.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Like a Machine Deed not resetting progress between games.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Woodpecker Technique Cornerstone incorrectly giving Insects for cutdown trees in Drizzle and Clearance.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Cage of the War Beast glade event showing an incorrect Impatience prompt.
⚡ Fixed a bug with an empty worker overlay being visible above traders found in glades when holding Alt.
⚡ Fixed a bug with some glade events having incorrect animations tied to the “burn down” decision.
⚡ Fixed an issue with Grain and Herbs being considered “food” by some effects (like food removal penalties, etc.).
⚡ Fixed an issue with the game sometimes freezing when quitting it.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Basic Housing need status not updating right away when removing houses.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the recipe overlay (CTRL) sometimes not working correctly.
⚡ Fixed an out-of-place floating shoulder piece in multiple Fox animations.
⚡ Fixed a bug that caused incorrect value changes when using Shift and left-click on the arrow buttons.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the total game time statistic counting time too fast.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Dangerous and Forbidden Glade warnings covering up species’ passive effect markers.
⚡ Fixed a bug with pathfinding breaking sometimes when trying to build a road on terrain where an event exploded previously.
⚡ Fixed a bug with some villagers being so busy with their tasks to realize they want to leave the settlement due to low Resolve (they left many seconds after the red bar filled up around their species’ portrait).
⚡ Fixed a bug with the resource radial menu staying on the screen after a game has been won.
⚡ Fixed an issue with one of the Petrified Tree’s working effects lacking some information in the description.
⚡ Fixed a bug that made it impossible to locate the Archaeologist’s Office when using arrow keys while hovering over the building card.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Robbed Dead working effect having an incorrect frame color.
⚡ Fixed multiple typos and inconsistencies in the Simplified Chinese localization of the game (encyclopedia, trader dialogue, Forest Mysteries, order names, objectives, perks, ghost dialogue, and event decisions).
⚡ Fixed multiple typos in the Russian localization of the game (Filling Dish, Beanery and Brewery, Corruption).
⚡ Fixed some incorrect tags in decoration descriptions in the Korean localization of the game.
⚡ Fixed some missing tags in decoration descriptions in the Czech localization of the game.
⚡ Fixed a typo with the Guild Catalogue perk in the Polish localization of the game.
Fixed a bug with the Impatience penalty prompt from the Harmony Spirit Altar displaying an incorrect value.
Fixed some inconsistencies with alert icon height above decorations of the same size.
Fixed an issue with World Map markers being too bright.
Other
Updated the Mine’s visual representation. Added a few new props and a drilling animation.
Changed the animation played by scouts when working on a Blood Flower glade event.
Changed the icon of the Converted Harmony Spirit Altar effect to avoid duplicates.
Changed the icon of the Heavy Fog working effect to avoid duplicates.
Sealed Forest (work in progress)
