Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Indie
Against the Storm
Hotfix 0.48.2 (Encyclopedia, Destroyed Tea House)
Greetings, Viceroys!
In today's hotfix, we're fixing some of the issues that occured after the Sentinels of the Forest Update. Thank you for your swift and detailed reports!
Fixed a bug that caused some saves to become corrupted if the Apothecary building was present in the settlement.
Fixed a bug with the "deliver X resource" order tooltip showing an incorrect description.
Fixed a bug with two Orders having the same rewards (Firestarter and Ancient Artifacts).
Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Tea House being called "Apothecary" in the UI.
Fixed a bug with the Improvised Tools Cornerstone tooltip showing an incorrect description.
Fixed an issue with the new Puffed Grain perk not being sold by traders.
Fixed an incorrect Russian translation of the Bread Peels Cornerstone.
Fixed a bug that caused the new decorations (Overgrown Fence and Overgrown Fence Corner) to be displayed in the Encyclopedia even without unlocking them.
Fixed an issue with species entries in the Encyclopedia being incorrectly ordered.
Fixed an issue with the German Fox description in the Encyclopedia being partially cut off by UI elements.
Fixed a bug that caused scouts to not play any animation when working on Archaeological Discovery events.
We also received a few crash reports. In yesterday's update, we moved to a newer version of the Unity Engine. While it improves the game's performance in general, it may cause singular issues. Therefore, if you experience crashes, we strongly recommend trying all the solutions listed in our trobuelshooting article: https://eremitegames.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/80000781533
From our experience, they tend to help in the majority of cases. We recommend starting by updating your drivers (here's a handy guide from PC Gamer: https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-update-drivers/).
We wish you lots of fun with the new update and a great weekend!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
Foxes join the game in the new Sentinels of the Forest Update!
Ahoj, Viceroys!
Against the Storm grows with the biggest content update ever.
Sentinels of the Forest Update introduces:
New playable species: Foxes
5 new buildings: Fox House, Tea Doctor, Tea House, Distillery, and Beanery
Starting Abilities (unique for every species)
11 new orders
3 new perks
7 new Citadel Upgrades
Increased level cap: 18
New food: Porridge
2 new Deeds
2 new decorations
New glade event
New attribute: Hunger Tolerance
5 new languages: Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Turkish, and Ukrainian
And more!
Check out the new trailer:
ALL-TIME LOW DISCOUNT AND UPCOMING PRICE INCREASE
We are thrilled to announce that Against the Storm will be featured on the Steam homepage for a Weekend Sale discount starting today, where you’ll be able to pick up the game for 25% off. If you (or your friends) have been on the fence about jumping into Against the Storm, now’s a great time to check it out!
In addition to being the best discount on the game to date, this will also be the last chance to get Against the Storm at the current price. We mentioned in the Early Access notes that the price would likely increase, and with this new species update, we feel enough content has been added for this. In two weeks we will raise the price -- for USD, the price will increase from $19.99 to $29.99, while other currencies will have similar proportional increases. This will be the ONLY time we raise the price of Against the Storm, and the price will remain at that level for the future v1.0 release and after.
But before we do that, we wanted to give everyone advance notice and a good discounted opportunity to buy the game at the lowest price. So if you'd like to get the game, please do so before April 27th, and we'll look forward to having you as part of the player community!
Viceroys, rejoice! Foxes have finally entered the game in the biggest update in the history of Against the Storm. And they didn’t arrive empty-handed, because this release also adds a lot of new content - buildings, orders, perks, decorations, deeds, upgrades, new mechanics, new languages, new music track, UI improvements, and much, much more. So without further ado, let's jump right into it.
First off, let’s talk about the new species - the mysterious and majestic Foxes. Back in January, we hosted a community vote, and you helped us decide which new species would end up in the game. Since then, we’ve been working hard on adding them to the game in parallel with delivering regular, bi-weekly updates. And today, Foxes are finally here!
Foxes are one of the more unique species in the world of Against the Storm. They are deeply tied to the forest and have evolved to live in symbiosis with the Blight. One of their most unique traits is their complete resistance to Hostility (they don’t get any Resolve penalty for it). They are skilled scouts (they are faster at solving glade events), and they enjoy working with rainwater (they get a Resolve bonus when working in buildings using it as an ingredient). Unfortunately, due to their relation with the Blight, they need constant Treatment (a new need in place of Cleanliness). Their other needs are: Any Housing, Fox Housing, Porridge (a new food type added with this update), Skewers, Pickled Goods, Brawling, and Luxury. Additionally, Fox firekeepers have the ability to lower the Hostility gained from every discovered glade.
When designing Foxes, our goal was to fill a few balance niches (like the two service needs that were only tied to one species up to this point) and introduce more variation in gameplay. That’s why we gave them a unique attribute (Hostility resistance) and tied them to glade events (via their specialization). We also wanted to round out the metal branch a bit more by requiring metal for Fox Houses and the production of Tea (a new good used to fulfill the need for Treatment). With that change, and numerous previous improvements to the metal branch (mine upgrades, tool rebalance, event revamp, pipes, etc.), we feel that this part of the game should now fall into a nice spot. Although there were numerous cool ideas for a complete metal revamp floating around in the community, we wanted to take a more evolutionary approach with this feature (rather than a revolutionary one).
Another big change coming with this update is the Hunger Tolerance system. Reading the previous paragraph, one might think that Foxes are straight up better than any other species - and to an extent, that would be true. But we also introduce a new global attribute for every species - Hunger Tolerance, which simply put, is the maximum number of hunger stacks a species can take before dying. Until now, hunger was stacking indefinitely, constantly increasing a Resolve penalty. From now on, in addition to the Resolve penalty, villagers will only be able to tank a certain number of stacks before dying (the values are as follows: Foxes 3, Harpies 4, Humans & Beavers 6, Lizards 12). That, combined with the reliance on metal for housing and Tea, as well as a low Base Resolve value, should make Foxes a bit less powerful and in line with other species.
This update also brings with it a brand new mechanic tied to species in the form of Starting Abilities. Each species now has a unique skill that is triggered once they join a given run for the first time - either at the beginning of the game (for species coming with the initial caravan) or when the first member of a new species joins the town. For example, Humans will reveal one patch of fertile soil on the map, while Foxes will show you the location of the nearest rainwater geyser. Starting Abilities are unlocked by buying upgrades in the Citadel.
Human and Fox starting abilities
With the addition of Foxes, there are also numerous areas where new content was added to support the new species. There are 5 new buildings (Fox House, Tea Doctor, Tea House, Distillery, Beanery), a new food item (Porridge, made from rainwater and simple food), 11 new Orders, 3 new perks, one new glade event, 2 new Deeds, 2 new decorations, and 7 new Citadel Upgrades. We also tweaked a lot of existing content to take Foxes into account and seamlessly incorporate them into the game. All the nitty-gritty details are described in the changelog below.
Lastly, this update brings with it a lot of smaller changes as well. We added support for 5 new languages to the game (Italian, Czech, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Turkish), introduced a new music track to the Coral Forest (Drizzle season), and replaced 41 old icons with new custom assets (a few resources, order objectives, biome effects, and needs). We also (as always) fixed a lot of bugs, and tried to improve the game’s performance and stability.
With all that said, let’s take a look at the Early Access roadmap and see what’s left. Over the past 5 months, we’ve been gradually adding new content, revamping old systems, and polishing the game in general. During that time, some items on the roadmap were pretty easy to mark as done after one or two updates (like Twitch Integration, the new species, the Blightrot revamp, or the Scarlet Orchard’s unique mechanic), whereas others were more complicated to check off, as they could theoretically go on indefinitely (like new perks, new orders, new decorations). But there comes a time when we need to look back at the sum of all the small steps taken (like all the individual small perk batches added in the last 12 updates) and decide to mark their respective roadmap items as delivered. And with this update, we feel that most of the ongoing content expansion topics (buildings, perks, orders, etc.) are done.
Early Access Roadmap (updated April 2023)
One of the more elusive ongoing items on the roadmap you are probably all wondering about is the metal branch evolution - and why it’s now marked as completed. This was never really intended to be a big revamp or a brand-new system, but rather a gradual evolution. While we never really named any update after it, we introduced small changes here and there (mine upgrades, pipes, needs based on metal, fox housing, event revamps, biome balancing) that slowly nudged the metal branch into a new direction. After the introduction of Foxes, that long marathon is at its end.
But don’t worry, the completion of the roadmap doesn’t mean we will stop adding new content to the game! When we first put together the roadmap, it was only meant to outline the first 6 months of Early Access. We wanted to be extra careful and not overpromise on anything, only adding to it once it was completed. And now, after half a year of suspiciously smooth development, it’s almost done, and we are looking at our backlog of ideas once again! We decided to continue the Early Access program for a couple more months and add more content that we feel would benefit the game greatly. We will share an updated roadmap in the near future.
Phew, that was a long dev note… and it probably didn’t even cover everything, because there is just soo much new stuff (but fortunately the changelog has everything listed). We hope you enjoy this massive new update, and thank you for all the feedback and suggestions you provided. 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 us a lot!
CHANGELOG
Number of changes: 120+ Inspired by community: 55%
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
⚡ Added a new playable species - Foxes.
Majestic and mysterious creatures deeply bonded with the forest. They evolved a symbiosis with Blightrot through long exposure to Rainwater, which caused some visible side effects. Foxes are skilled scouts and feel comfortable working with Rainwater. They are highly susceptible to starvation.
Fox attributes:
Base Resolve: 5
Break Interval 2:00
Resilient: low
Demanding: low
Decadent: medium
Foxes have the following needs:
Any Housing
Fox Housing
Porridge
Skewers
Pickled Goods
Brawling
Luxury
Treatment
Foxes are completely resistant to Hostility of the Forest. They don’t suffer Resolve penalties from it (but they still are susceptible to the Storm Resolve penalty).
Fox firekeeper ability:
Forest Affinity - Fox Firekeepers have an unusual ability to calm the forest. Hostility from opened glades is lowered by 2 each.
Fox specializations:
Forest - a Fox scout assigned to a Glade Event reduces its working time by 5%.
Rainwater - a Fox assigned to a building tagged as “Rainwater” gets a +5 Resolve bonus.
⚡ Added 5 new buildings.
Fox House - Building specifically made for Foxes. Has to be built near a Hearth. Can house 2 residents.
Tea Doctor - A place where villagers can fulfill their need for: Treatment, Brawling. Passive effects: Vitality.
Vitality - A rich diet is beneficial for villagers' health. Gain a stack of the Vitality Effect (+1 to Global Resolve) for every 150 units of any Complex Food consumed. (the bonus is added retroactively)
Tea House - Can produce: Tea (T3), Porridge (T2), Waterskins (T1). Can use: Drizzle Water.
Distillery - Can produce: Wine (T2), Porridge (T2), Barrels (T2). Can use: Drizzle Water.
Beanery - Can produce: Porridge (T3), Pickled Goods (T2), Crystalized Dew (T1). Can use: Drizzle Water.
⚡ Added a new food item - Porridge.
Porridge is a low-tier complex food made from Rainwater (Drizzle, Clearance, or Storm Water) and Grain/Vegetables/Mushrooms/Herbs.
Porridge can be produced in the Field Kitchen, Tea House, Distillery, and Beanery.
Foxes and Humans have the need to consume Porridge.
⚡ Added 11 new Orders.
The Pack - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
Joyful Foxes (timed) - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
People of the Forest - reach a population threshold with Foxes.
Aid for the Fox Pack - deliver Storm Water and Packs of Provisions.
Fox Influx - deliver Herbs.
Fox Population - reach a population and Resolve threshold with Foxes.
Happy Foxes - reach a Resolve level with Foxes, solve glade events.
Homes For Foxes (timed) - have Fox Houses.
Fox Relatives - satisfy the need for Porridge and have Fox Houses.
Fox Resolve - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
Fox Majority - reach a population threshold with Foxes, deliver Porridge.
⚡ Added 3 new perks.
Fox Pack Support - Ever since the Great Civil War, all species have been locked in a constant struggle to gain the Queen's favor. The Fox tribe remembers your help. (+3 to Foxes Resolve)
Puffed Grain - +1 to Porridge production. Gain additional Porridge every yield (from gathering, farming, or production).
Filling Dish - Porridge production increases by +1 for every 150 units of Drizzle Water produced.
⚡ Added one new glade event.
Fallen Fox Scouts - A group of fallen Fox scouts. They must have been sent to search the area to make sure it was safe... Apparently, something stood in their way. This find is causing grief among the Fox population.
⚡ Added 7 new Citadel Upgrades.
A new Brass Forge Upgrade on level 9 - unlocking the Beaver Starting Ability.
A new Pioneers’ Gate Upgrade on level 12 - unlocking the Fox Starting Ability.
A new Monastery of the Vigilant Flame Upgrade on level 8 - unlocking the Lizard Starting Ability.
A new First Dawn Headquarters Upgrade on level 10 - unlocking the Human Starting Ability.
A new Vanguard Spire Upgrade on level 8 - unlocking the Essential Fox House.
A new Vanguard Spire Upgrade on level 11 - unlocking the Harpy Starting Ability.
A new Obsidian Archive Upgrade on level 18 - taking on one of the earlier upgrades to the Grace Period (to allow for reshuffling in some earlier upgrades).
As the new upgrades were added in the middle of the upgrade tree, some old ones were pushed further up (more details on that in the balance section of this changelog).
⚡ Increased the level cap to 18.
⚡ Added 2 new Deeds.
Fox Settlement - Win a game with at least 25 Foxes.
Fox Utopia - Win a game with 30 Foxes, 15 x Fox House, 1 x Tea Doctor
⚡ Added 2 new decorations.
Overgrown Fence (Aesthetics) - unlocked by completing the Fox Settlement Deed.
Overgrown Fence Corner (Aesthetics) - unlocked by completing the Fox Utopia Deed.
Added a new mechanic - Starting Abilities.
Each species now has a unique special ability (unlockable via Upgrades in the Smoldering City).
Starting abilities are triggered once for every available species in a given run - either at the beginning of the game (for species coming with the initial caravan) or when the first member of a new species joins the town.
Humans - reveal the location of 1 of the nearest patches of fertile soil.
Beavers - extend available trade offers by 1 in each neighboring town.
Lizards - start with 10 Tools.
Harpies - start with 50 Coats.
Foxes - reveal the location of 1 of the nearest geysers.
Added a new species attribute - Hunger Tolerance.
Each species now has a new attribute: Hunger Tolerance. The exact value of this new stat can be found in the Encyclopedia in the “species” tab.
Hunger Tolerance is the maximum number of hunger stacks a species can take before dying (Foxes: 3, Harpies: 4, Humans & Beavers: 6, Lizards: 12).
A villager dies as soon as the number of hunger stacks exceeds the tolerance.
If a villager is at risk of dying during the next break they take (meaning - they will find no food and have the maximum amount of hunger stacks), a notification will appear on the left side of the screen.
Balance
⚡ Removed the Stormforged version of Mist Piercers to avoid overlap with the already existing Ancient Pact perk.
Added the Rainwater specialization tag to multiple buildings.
Brickyard
Finesmith
Advanced Rain Collector
Cooperage
Rain Collector
Greenhouse
Geyser Pump
Clay Pit
Apothecary
Rainpunk Foundry
Alchemist Hut
Added the Forest specialization tag to all Glade Events.
Reshuffled some needs for Humans and Harpies.
Humans no longer require Jerky, and want Porridge instead.
Harpies no longer require Brawling, and want Clothing instead.
Harpies no longer require Skewers, and want Biscuits instead.
Changed the Cleanliness need to Treatment (renamed it and changed the icon).
Changed the Cosmetics resource to Tea (both the name and icon)..
Added the Porridge recipe to the Field Kitchen.
The Tavern can now fulfill the need for Luxury instead of Brawling.
Changed the names of several perks.
Cosmetic Delivery Line was renamed to Tea Delivery Line.
Mortar and Pestle was renamed to Tea Infuser.
Cosmetic Specialization was renamed to Tea Specialization.
High Hygiene was renamed to Health Infusion.
Rebalanced the biome effect in the Coral Forest. Inspiring Pressure now gives a bonus of 3% instead of 5%.
Rebalanced the Archeologist’s Office upgrades in the Scarlet Orchard.
Ancient Strength - changed the bonus capacity from 5 to 3
Carved in Stone - changed the scout working speed increase from 10% to 5%.
Decryption - changed the Hostility reduction from -15 to -10.
Removed two Orders.
Tooled Up
Outerwear
Changed the reward for completing the Harpy Resolve Order. It now gives +2 to Biscuit production (instead of Skewers).
Reshuffled multiple Citadel Upgrades. The individual changes are too numerous to describe, so we decided to quickly explain just the most crucial points.
Due to the addition of Fox Houses and Starting Abilities in the middle of the tech tree (levels 8 to 12), all upgrades above their level range were moved up slightly.
Some upgrades moved up by just one level, others were distributed a bit more freely in the higher parts of the tech tree.
There are now 3 upgrades on the new max. Level (18) for three branches: Obsidian Archive, First Dawn Headquarters, and Vanguard Spire.
Citadel Resource costs were adjusted to be in line with the level at which a given upgrade is located. A new higher price range was also added to upgrades on level 18 (variations of: 156 Food Stockpiles, 40 Artifacts, 40 Machinery).
Some upgrades were moved down the tech tree. For example, the first upgrade of the Vanguard Spire (Essential Human Houses) is now purchasable on level 4 instead of 5.
The Additional Caravan Slot reward was moved from the Vanguard Spire to the Obsidian Archive.
Reshuffled level-up rewards. The individual changes are too numerous to describe, so we decided to simply give you a full list of all rewards and levels.
⚡ Added unique icons for every species in Orders that require achieving a certain resolve threshold with a given species. Previously it was just one icon (a human eye) for all of them.
⚡ Changed the objective name for all objectives based on delivering resources in the Orders UI to be clearer and easier to understand.
Changed the icons for multiple resources in the game.
Wildfire Essence
Pipes
Drizzle Water
Clearance Water
Storm Water
Changed the icons for multiple order objectives and ghost requests.
Solve Events with Empathy/Corruption/Loyalty.
Burn Blightrot Cysts.
Have Blightrot Cysts.
Attack a trader.
Starve villagers.
Use rainwater.
Forbid needs.
Changed the icons for upgrades in the Mine and Geyser Pump.
Minecart
Box Crib
Pit Pony
Tank Capacity
Automaton
Changed the icons of the unique effects on all biomes.
Changed the icons of Rain Engine effects.
Efficiency
Reliability
Low Strain
Changed the names of the favoring buff (Lighter Treatment) and debuff (Unfair Treatment) to Negligence and Favoring to avoid confusion with the new need - Treatment.
Updated the Encyclopedia entry about food and hunger to the new mechanic of hunger stacks into account.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with two orders (Pyromancer and Deeper Into the Wilds) having the same rewards.
⚡ Fixed a bug with some small glades having incorrectly generated resources and geysers (and breaking pump placement because of it).
⚡ Fixed a bug with some glades being incorrectly generated with the Untamed Wilds modifier.
⚡ Fixed numerous edge cases related to glade generation and event/resource placement on the map.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Caravan Glade Event having the same decision label twice.
⚡ Fixed the wording of the Monastery of the Holy Flame modifier description. It now correctly states that the effect applies to all needs, not just food.
⚡ Fixed an issue with Lizard scouts having no animation when working on the Altar of Decay Glade Event.
⚡ Fixed an issue with arrow keys being displayed as Num keys on the UI.
⚡ Fixed an issue with scouts working on Archaeological Discoveries not having any animations.
⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Lightning Forest Mystery to appear in the Coral Forest.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the state previous of the Long Live the Queen perk not showing correct values.
⚡ Fixed a bug with amount indicators overlapping with checkmarks in the upgrade UI of geyser pumps.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Resolve Preview breaking when hovering over the favoring button as the last villager of a given species leaves.
⚡ Fixed an issue with scaled-down ‘i’ letters looking jagged in some places in the UI.
⚡ Removed the state preview from the Improvised Tools Cornerstone.
⚡ Fixed an issue with numerous sounds not stopping when the game was paused.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Twitch Integration occasionally breaking when a chat poll was created.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Engine Corrosion effect having an incorrect border color.
⚡ Fixed some typos and grammatical errors in Russian (for example World Map tooltips) and Japanese (Hostility description).
Fixed an issue with the decision highlight in the event UI being cut-off.
Other
⚡ Improved the overall performance and stability of the game, and updated the game’s engine to a newer version. This should eliminate numerous crashes and freezes, as well as improve overall FPS.
⚡ Added official support for 5 new languages. The game is now fully translated into:
Italian
Czech
Ukrainian
Hungarian
Turkish
⚡ Added a new music track to the Coral Forest (during Drizzle).
Improved and tweaked a lot of ambient sounds in the game. Cleaned up some tracks to avoid mismatched background sounds.
The Apothecary was changed visually from a Harpy building into a Fox building.
The Clothier was changed visually from a universal building into a Harpy building.
The Herb Garden was changed visually from a Beaver building into a Fox building.
COMMUNITY CORNER
Click to unfold:
[expand type="showmore"] TonyShape is killing it again with two new comic strips:
Meat Specialization by ToneShape (Source: Twitter)
Preview Livestream (Sentinels of the Forest Update)
Greetings, Viceroys!
Join us later today (April 10), at 3:00 pm UTC, on Steam (as a part of the Lovecraftian Days event) and on the Eremite Games’ Twitch channel for a developer livestream during which we’ll present all the new features coming in this week’s Sentinels of the Forest Update, including:
Please make sure you’re ready for the new update and finish your settlements before the Update goes live on Thursday (April 13 sometime between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm UTC).
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.
Experimental Update (Sentinels of the Forest)
Greetings, Viceroys!
We're thrilled to invite you to the Experimental version of the upcoming Sentinels of the Forest Update, which will introduce the 5th playable species: Foxes.
The addition of new species comes with plenty of gameplay-affecting changes and we'd love to hear your early impressions and feedback.
Please be warned, that as with any other Experimental Update, the upcoming changes are not localized, there can be bugs, and the balance might feel way off. You can find more information about the Experimental Branch in our guide: https://eremitegames.com/ats-experimental-branch/
Now, let’s dive into the changes introduced in the update.
What’s new?
The Experimental version includes all the new features (described below) but lacks the visual changes. All the new buildings and villager models are placeholder assets that will be replaced when the proper update goes live on April 13.
Placeholder villagers and placeholder buildings.
Specialization
Foxes are majestic and mysterious creatures deeply bonded with the forest. They have evolved to a mutual symbiosis with Blightrot through long exposure to Rainwater, which caused some visible side effects. Foxes are skilled scouts and feel comfortable working with Rainwater.
Fox firekeeper activates the Forest Affinity effect:
Forest Affinity - Fox Firekeepers have an unusual ability to calm the forest. Opening any glades gives 2 less Hostility (scales with difficulty).
Attributes
Foxes’ attributes:
Base Resolve: 5
Break Interval: 2:00
Resilience: low
Demanding: low
Decadent: medium
Hostility Resistance (Foxes don’t get a Resolve penalty for Hostility of the Forest - but they do acquire a penalty from the Storm)
Needs
Foxes’ needs:
Any Housing
Foxes Housing
Porridge
Skewers
Pickled Goods
Brawling
Luxury
Treatment
Treatment replaces Cleanliness to better reflect the nature of Harpies and Foxes who have a strong need to treat the symptoms of their disease caused by the Blightrot. Cosmetics are now replaced by Tea - a remedy for many afflictions - first introduced by Royal Stormwalkers (always served in metal cups).
Porridge is a new food produced by Field Kitchen, Beanery, Teahouse, and Distillery. Porridge is made from a simple food item (like Grain for example) and Rainwater.
We also made changes to other species’ needs:
Humans: changed Jerky to Porridge
Harpies: changed Brawling to Clothes
Buildings
We introduce 5 new buildings:
Fox House
Can house 2 residents.
Tea House
Recipes:
Tea (T3)
Porridge (T2)
Waterskins (T1)
Specialization bonus:
Alchemy
Rainwater
Can use Drizzle Water.
Distillery
Recipes:
Wine (T2)
Porridge (T2)
Barrels (T2)
Specialization bonus:
Brewing
Rainwater
Can use Drizzle Water
Beanery
Recipes:
Porridge (T3)
Pickled Goods (T2)
Crystalized Dew (T1)
Specialization bonus:
Warmth
Rainwater
Can use Drizzle Water.
Tea Doctor
Recipes:
Treatment
Brawling
Passive effect:
Vitality - A rich diet is beneficial for villagers' health. Gain a stack of the Vitality Effect (bonus to Global Resolve) for every 100 units of any Complex Food consumed.
We also made changes to existing buildings:
The Field Kitchen now has 4 recipes (a Porridge recipe was added)
Tavern now has Luxury (Wine) instead of Brawling (Training Gear)
Passive abilities
The introduction of Foxes also brings with it a new mechanic to all of the already existing species - Passive Abilities. A Passive Ability is triggered once for every available species in a given run - either at the beginning of the game (for species coming with the initial caravan) or when the first member of a new species joins the town.
Each species now has its unique special ability (unlockable via Upgrades in the Smoldering City):
Humans: Reveals the locations of 2 of the nearest patches of fertile soil.
Beavers: Extends available trade offers by 1 in each neighboring town.
Lizards: Start with 10 tools.
Harpies: Start with 50 Coats.
Foxes: Reveals the locations of 2 of the nearest geysers.
Once unlocked, the abilities are always active.
Orders
New orders:
Fox Influx
Fox Population
Happy Foxes
The Pack
Joyful Foxes
People of the Forest
Aid for the Fox Pack
Fox Relatives
Fox Resolve
Fox Majority
Perks
New perks:
Fox Pack Support - Ever since the Great Civil War, all species have been locked in a constant struggle to gain the Queen's favor. The Fox tribe remembers your help. +3 to Foxes resolve.
Filling Dish - Porridge production increases by 1 for every 75 units of Drizzle Rainwater produced.
Changed perk names:
Cosmetic Delivery Line changed to Tea Delivery Line
Mortar and Pestle changed to Tea Infuser
Cosmetic Specialization changed to Tea Specialization
High Hygiene changed to Health Infusion
Event
New event:
Fallen Fox Scouts - A group of fallen Fox scouts. They must have been sent to search the area to make sure it was safe... Apparently, something stood in their way. This find is causing grief among the Fox population.
Biome changes
In this update, we’re also introducing some changes to biome mechanics.
Coral Forest:
Inspiring Pressure: changed the bonus yield chance from 5% to 3%.
The Scarlet Orchard (Archeologist’s Office):
Ancient Strength: changed the bonus capacity increase from 5 to 3.
Carved in Stone: changed working time speed bonus from 10% to 5%.
Decryption: reduced the Hostility change from -15 to -10.
Unity Engine update
We also updated the Unity Engine to a newer version in this release. This will hopefully reduce the number of crashes on new GPUs and improve overall performance/stability.
When reporting Experimental Branch crashes and bugs, please also include your system specifications, the platform on which you're playing, and the zipped contents of your entire game saves folder: %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games\Against the Storm - Experimental
How to report:
Briefly describe the issue
Provide additional details, such as a more detailed description and frequency of occurrence.
(If possible) include a screenshot or video of the issue.
Include the zipped contents of your entire game saves folder: %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games\Against the Storm - Experimental
You can send them on Discord or via email: support@eremitegames.freshdesk.com
What are we interested in?
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:
How do the new changes affect your runs?
Have you found Foxes significantly better or worse than other species?
Is there anything about these new changes that makes the gameplay feel worse (especially more repetitive) or better (especially more diverse)?
We can’t wait to hear your impressions once you give the new Experimental Update a try!
We just released a small hotfix addressing the issues that cropped-up after yesterday's update:
Fixed a bug with scouts being idle in the Ancient Shrine after they finished working on it.
Fixed a bug with Harpies going into T-pose after working on certain glade events.
Fixed an issue with the Seal Fragment Cornerstone not working correctly.
Fixed a bug with deposit charge numbers not updating in real time in the resource node panel.
Fixed a bug with the Fishmen Lighthouse Impatience penalty displaying an unlocalized string after activation.
Temporarily removed the state preview form the Voice of the Forest effect.
Please make sure your game is updated to version Early Access 0.47.2.
We wish you lots of fun with the new changes and a fantastic weekend!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
Explorer’s Choice Update out now!
Greetings, Viceroys!
We have a new update or two coming your way. Here's what's new in today's Explorer's Choice Update:
Event Choices system (glade events revamped)
Objective icons in Orders
3 new decorations
New music track
New event working animations
But that's not all. Tomorrow, we'll release the Sentinels of the Forest Update (aka Foxes Update) to the Experimental Branch!
So without further ado, let's dive into all the exciting updates we have for you.
P.S. Virtual beavers join forces to bring you the ultimate BEAVER BUILDER BUNDLE! Until April 9, you can save 10% on two city builders with sharp-teeth lumberjacks:
In today’s update, we bring you a revamp to almost all existing glade events (in the form of a new Event Choices system), some order UI improvements, a new perk, new decorations, a new music track, new character animations, and of course - bug fixes. We also have some spicy news about the new playable species at the end of this dev note, so without further ado, let's get into it.
First off, let’s talk about the Event Choices system. For a while now, we saw two unresolved issues with the current implementation of glade events. On one hand, there was not enough decision-making involved in solving them, and on the other hand, the existing choices (the reward options) were very limited in their flavor (e.g. what does “send to the Citadel” even mean in the context of the Mole?). On top of that, there was also a range of smaller problems: a limited time window to start an event on Prestige, over-representation of tools in events, the overall similarity of event requirements, and poor reward balance.
To address all of this, we decided to introduce a new system - Event Choices. Instead of simply giving you the same reward options for each event (“send to Citadel” or “keep loot”), most events will now have two approaches for how to solve them, with rewards and requirements tied to them (options can differ in terms of goods required and working effects, and choosing one will lock in the reward). Some of the decisions you will be making can now have more long-lasting consequences, influencing your perks and orders.
Altar of Decay choices
Let’s look at an example. You just found an Altar of Decay in a glade - a vile place, where the Sealed Ones are worshiped by those who eagerly await their return. You can act morally and tear it down, for which you will be rewarded with some loot and a Loyalty point. But you can also perform an old ritual, sacrificing one of your villagers to obtain the Altar’s power. This action will earn you a Corruption point, and convert the event into a beneficial decoration in your settlement. Both choices have different requirements, so now you will have to weigh both the rewards and the costs.
The “points” mentioned above are a new pseudo-resource awarded for solving events by making decisions tagged with a keyword. There are 3 types of tags right now (Empathy, Loyalty, and Corruption), and they influence some perks and orders in the game (to be expanded in the future).
Because of the new system, almost all events have been rebalanced or changed in some way. The amount of required goods has gone up in general, and the number of different types of resources suitable for any given slot was decreased, but on the other hand, there should now be more options overall (each event decision requires something else), threat timers have been extended by ~30%, and exploration should now rely less on tool production (we also removed Infused Tools entirely, as they were just a better version of Simple Tools, and a very niche and rarely used resource).
Blightrot Cauldron choices
Cleansing Corrupted Caravan
But the Event Choices system is not the only thing coming in this update. We also took a closer look at the Order UI and tried to improve it a bit. As you might have noticed, if an objective requires you to do something with a resource (like sacrifice it, sell it, or deliver it), its icon is always the same - it’s simply the asset of the required resource itself. This creates a problem - it’s difficult to distinguish the different types of requirements at a glance. So with this update, we decided to introduce an additional marker next to the objective icon for the following objective types: deliver goods, sacrifice goods, sell goods, produce goods, change ingredients, satisfy a need, and satisfy a need simultaneously.
This update also brings with it one new Stormforged Cornerstone (Seal Fragment), three new decorations (Thorny Reed, Chest, Cages), a new music track in the Coral Forest, new event animations for scouts, and numerous bug fixes.
And now, let’s get into the thing you’ve all been waiting for - news about Foxes! We finally have a release date for the update, and it’s April 13th! But wait, there’s more - tomorrow (Friday the 31st of March), you will be able to test the new playable species on the Experimental Branch! Unfortunately, all the fox assets will be hidden (the sly little bastards will be disguised as humans), but the balance and systems will be in place and ready for your feedback. There is quite a lot to go through, and we will share a more detailed note on the Experimental version moments before it goes live.
Fox villagers
Thank you for providing us with feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
Revamped most glade events by introducing a new system - Event Choices.
Until now, most events only had the same two options: keep the loot, or send it to the Citadel (or sometimes - convert a dangerous event into a positive decoration). The Event Choices system expands on that, creating more unique and flavorful decisions for almost all events.
From now on, you no longer select just the reward from an event, but you have to select the approach you’re taking to solve it first. Each approach has different requirements (goods or working effects), and the rewards are bound to it.
Let’s take the Altar of Decay as an example - you can either act morally, tear it down, and be rewarded with some loot and the Queen’s gratitude, or you can perform an old, forbidden ritual, sacrificing one of your villagers, and convert the altar into a decoration that will benefit you. Each option requires different goods and has different working effects.
Another example would be Caches found in some glades. They can now be smashed and looted using some simple resources (like Stone and Resin), or sent back to the Citadel for Amber and Reputation (but at a much higher cost - for Tools).
Some decisions in events are marked by special symbols (for Empathy, Corruption, Loyalty). Solving an event with a tag like this will count as 1 point in Empathy/Corruption/Loyalty (for example sacrificing villagers at an altar will increase the Corruption count of your settlement). Right now these statistics only influence some perks in the game, and might be required by certain orders.
A vast majority of events have been rebalanced due to this new system being added. The individual changes are too numerous to list them here, but in general, almost all resource requirements are now different, and working effects are mostly tied to just one of the two available decisions (the other is often just resources). The number of alternatives in resource slots in a single option is also slightly lower, but that’s because there are now two options to choose from (so the overall number of alternatives should still be higher than previously).
⚡ Added 3 new decorations.
Chest
Cages
Thorny Reed
Added a new Stormforged Cornerstone.
Seal Fragment - It was not you who removed this fragment, weakening the ancient seal, but you would still be executed on the spot if someone was to find it in your possession. Every Glade Event solved by making a decision marked as Corruption increases the chance of workers producing double yields by +5%. (the bonus is added retroactively)
Balance
⚡ Rebalanced the Shrine glade event in the first tutorial. It now requires fewer resources and has a slightly longer time limit.
⚡ Temporarily deactivated the Magical Rainwater Order. It will be reactivated after being revamped in a future update.
⚡ The Temple is now automatically unlocked after finishing the tutorial (instead of being unlocked at level 3).
⚡ Changed how far the Resolve threshold for generating reputation moves for Harpies after they generated a Reputation Point. Previously, every Reputation Point gained through Resolve moved the threshold by 2 points, and now it is moved up by 3 points.
Rebalanced a vast majority of events because of the addition of the new Event Choices system. The individual changes are too numerous to list here, but in general, almost all resource requirements are now different, and working effects have been reshuffled.
Working Effects are mostly tied to just one of the two available decisions (the other is often just resources).
The number of alternatives in resource slots in a single option is slightly lower, but that’s because there are now two options to choose from (so the overall number of alternatives should still be higher than previously).
More varied types of goods are now required by events. Simple Tools are now less prevalent in event requirements.
Changed the difficulty scaling for goods required by all events. Overall, the resource scaling is now steeper than before.
Decreased the number of rewards given for opening Caches in glades.
Most orders and ghost requests asking for a specific solution to a glade event (like sending stuff to the Citadel or salvaging ruins) have been replaced by objectives tied to the new decision tags (Empathy, Corruption, Loyalty).
Removed Infused Tools from the game.
Increased the production speed of Tools from 112/98/84 seconds to 90/75/60 seconds (T1/T2/T3).
Increased the time limit for all glade events by around 30%.
Changed the Calming the Forest perk. Now every Glade Event solved by making a decision marked as Empathy lowers Hostility by 40.
Removed the Forest Mitigation perk and added Frequent Patrols instead. Every Glade Event solved by making a decision marked as Loyalty lowers Hostility by 10.
Removed the Infused Tools recipe from the Finesmith. Added the Simple Tools recipe instead (tier 3).
Removed the Infused Tools recipe from the Rainpunk Foundry. Added a Wildfire recipe instead.
Changed the rewards in 3 Deeds.
The Scarlet Orchard - removed the experience reward, added the Thorny Reed decoration.
Bandit Camp - removed the experience reward, added the Cages decoration.
Trade Baron - removed the experience reward, added the Chest decoration.
Moved the Tool Hoarder Deed (win a game with Infused Tools in the storage) to the Legacy category (the Deed is no longer active).
Moved the Meat Specialization perk unlock from level 2 to level 3.
UX/UI improvements
⚡ Added small objective icons to some Orders.
Until now, objectives such as sacrificing, delivering, selling, or producing goods all had the same icon - namely the icon of the resource they were referencing.
To help players recognize objectives at a glance, we added small, flat icons to the upper right corner of the objective icon.
There are 7 objective icons right now: changing ingredients, delivering goods, fulfilling needs, fulfilling needs at the same time, producing goods, sacrificing resources, and selling goods.
⚡ Added a suffix to Hostility modifiers on the World Map and in the Training/Daily Expeditions UI, explaining that Hostility scales based on the difficulty level.
⚡ Added a progress tracker to the Petrified Necropolis modifier.
⚡ Changed the name of the Resolve effect applied by the Greater Threat Forest Mystery. It’s now also called “Greater Threat” to avoid confusion.
⚡ Changed the description of the positive effect from the Converted Altar of Decay to also include leaving villagers (and not just dead ones).
⚡ Updated the biome descriptions for the Royal Woodlands and Marshlands.
⚡ Added information about how to unlock Rain Engines in the Rainpunk entry in the in-game Encyclopedia.
Updated the Glade Event entry in the in-game Encyclopedia.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed an issue that caused the game to sometimes crash/freeze when Twitch Integration was active.
⚡ Goods sold via trade routes are now correctly counted towards order completion (for objectives that require selling certain resources).
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Caravan Glade Event’s negative effect being permanent.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the recipe panel not displaying the correct values after loading saved limits (while in search mode).
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Clan Hall rotating by itself when destroyed by lightning.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Master Archaeologist Deed not completing if the game was won by finishing the last Archaeological Discovery.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Blight Infection Forest Mystery being drawn in games without Corruptiona active.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Orders requiring the fulfillment of certain needs simultaneously not taking unlocked buildings into account.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Night’s Embrace effect spawning lesser effects without a name or description on the game’s HUD.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Advanced Herbalism perk being offered to the player even if they didn’t have the corresponding building.
⚡ Fixed a but with idle Automatons showing an incorrect water type being produced.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Corrupted Caravan tooltip showing incorrect values on the Prestige 10 difficulty.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Lightning Forest Mystery having incorrect information in its description.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Large Baskets perk having an incorrect rarity assigned.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Blight Incantation effect showing an incorrect expected gain value.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Lightning Forest Mystery being drawn in biomes without copper deposits.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Converted Altar of Decay missing a “Harmony” tag (and the tag being present on the effect instead of the decoration).
⚡ Fixed holes in the geometry of the Open Vault Glade Event.
⚡ Fixed a bug with debuff icons above villagers’ heads appearing too soon.
⚡ Improved the Korean translation of the Move On button in the ESC menu.
⚡ Improved the Simplified Chinese translation of multiple lines in the game (multiple perk descriptions, favoring, upgrade descriptions, etc.).
⚡ Fixed a few typos in the Portuguese version of the game (tutorial text, Hostility effect).
⚡ Fixed a bug with some Chinese characters not being displayed correctly in search bars and text boxes.
Fixed a bug with smoke effects casting shadows.
Other
⚡ Added a new music track to the Coral Forest (during Clearance).
Added new animations (talking, carrying out rituals, fixing, threatening) to scout units when solving glade events. Also repurposed some existing animations to be used by scouts.
Changed the name of Simple Tools to just Tools.
COMMUNITY CORNER
Click to unfold: [expand type="showmore"] Attitude by TonyShape (source: Reddit)
Please make sure you’re ready for the new update and finish your current settlement before the Update goes live tomorrow (March 30 sometime between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm UTC).
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
How to prepare for the Update
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.
Experimental Update (Event Choices)
Greetings, Viceroys!
In the new Experimental Update, we’re introducing the Event Choices system - a new set of choices for almost every existing event.
How it worked?
For quite some time, we saw two unresolved issues with the current implementation of glade events. On one hand, there was not enough decision-making around solving them, and on the other hand, the existing choices (the reward options) were very limited in their flavor (e.g. what does “send to the Citadel” even mean in the context of the Mole?).
On top of that, there was a range of smaller problems:
A very limited time window to start an event on high Prestige.
Over-representation of tools in all events.
The overall similarity between event requirements.
A lack of balance between different event rewards.
What did we change?
To address all of these issues, we introduce the Event Choices system. An overwhelming majority of events will now have two options to choose from, with rewards and requirements tied to each other (options can differ in terms of goods required and working effects, and choosing one will lock in the reward). Some of the decisions you will be making can now have more long-lasting consequences, influencing your perks and orders.
Let’s look at the example. You just found an Altar of Decay in a glade - a vile place, where the Sealed Ones are worshiped by those who eagerly await their return.
Altar of Decay choices
You can tear it down, for which you will be rewarded with some loot and a Loyalty point. But you can also perform an old ritual, sacrificing one of your villagers to obtain the Altar’s power. This action will earn you a Corruption point, and convert the event into a beneficial decoration in your settlement. Both choices have different requirements, so now you will have to weigh both the rewards and the costs.
The “points” awarded by the event are tied to the types of decisions you make. There are 4 types as of now, and they influence some perks and orders in the game (to be expanded in the future).
Other notable changes:
Infused Tools were removed from the game.
All events have ~30% more time until their penalty kicks in.
Goods required by events are scaled steeper with each difficulty level (up to Viceroy).
Orders requiring players to solve events in a certain way were changed.
Tools production is faster.
The Calming the Forest perk was changed.
The Forest Mitigation perk was replaced by Frequent Patrols.
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:
How do the new changes affect your runs?
Have you found some events overwhelming, difficult, or too easy?
Are you able to reliably open dangerous glades in year 1 or year 2? Does it change for year 3 and beyond?
Is there anything about these new mechanics that makes the gameplay feel worse (especially more repetitive) or better (especially more diverse)?
We can’t wait to hear your impressions once you give the new Experimental Update a try!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
Twitch Integration Update is out now!
Greetings, Viceroys!
We're back with yet another Against the Storm Update! This time, we're wrapping up another feature from the Roadmap: Twitch Integration.
Twitch Integration: Forest Guardians vs Council of Elders chat minigame
Twitch Integration: chat polls
Fuel prioritization
Forest Mysteries rebalance
3 new Forest Mysteries
Orders rebalance
2 new Orders
And more!
Check out the Twitch Integration Trailer presented by Kormakrtv and RonEmpire:
Big shoutout to RonEmpire who is Against the Storm's most dedicated streamer. We recommend following Ron if you want to learn more about the game and have a great time.
Now, let's dive into the update notes and the full changelog below!
P.S. If you don't own Against the Storm yet, the game will participate in the Steam Spring Sale (which starts later today) with a 20% discount.
DEVELOPER NOTES
Let us start with a reading recommendation. Recently, we had the pleasure to talk with gamedeveloper.com about Against the Storm's design pillars and how we approached the rare mixture of city builder and roguelite. Michał (telhurin) shared plenty of insights into the philosophy behind certain systems and behind-the-scene processes. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
Today’s release is a bit smaller than usual, as most of the team is still hard at work on the new playable species, but it introduces some exciting new things nevertheless. The star of this update is ― as the name suggests ― the new Twitch Integration. But there are also some other notable changes, like the option to prioritize fuel in Hearths, a rebalance of Forest Mysteries and Orders (as well as a few new ones), improved performance, and a lot of bug fixes.
First off, let’s talk about Twitch Integration. As most of our art and design resources [Or as we, non-producers, like to call them: "people" - Luke] are focused on the new species, we decided to make the most of this time and try to deliver a less asset-heavy feature from the Early Access roadmap. You probably already got to see some parts of it, as there was a small closed beta, as well as an experimental release last week, and some streamers already tested it.
When designing the Twitch Integration, we immediately went to the feature that seemed the most fun and well-suited to Against the Storm - chat polls. The game is full of choices (Cornerstones, Blueprints, Caravans, Orders, etc.), so giving the audience the opportunity to influence a run and make some tough decisions for the streamer seemed like a no-brainer. But we also wanted to create something more unique alongside the voting feature - something that would create a bit more tension and let lucky viewers have a real impact on the game. And this is how the chat minigame was born.
Guardians vs Elders Twitch chat minigame
Cornerstone Twitch poll
Once the minigame is activated, viewers can join one of two factions (the town or the forest). From each group, three users are chosen to become the factions’ representatives - Forest Guardians or Council Members. From this moment on, they can use special abilities (chat commands) to help or hinder the streamer.
Forest Guardians abilities:
!poison - passively remove food from the Warehouse
!anger - increase Hostility of the Forest
!chant - slow down events working time
Council of Elders abilities:
!tale - increase the global Resolve
!speech - slow down the Villagers' leaving rate
!prayer - extra production chance
(chat commands may differ based on the language chosen by the streamer)
Forest Guardians and the Council of Elders have physical representations in the streamer’s game. Council Members take the role of random villagers and have their Twitch usernames displayed above their heads, and Forest Guardians are assigned to nearby dangerous glade events. Faction representatives can be defeated (by killing their character in the game or solving the assigned event), and new ones are chosen after a cooldown. For a more thorough breakdown of the minigame’s rules, read the streamer guide we created, or go directly to the Encyclopedia entry in the game.
In this update, we also took a closer look at the balance of Forest Mysteries. There were quite a few effects that were too powerful (like Cloudburst or Greater Threat), resulting in some runs feeling unnecessarily frustrating. We decided to tone them down a bit, mostly by increasing the Hostility level at which they are activated, and by improving the RNG behind the entire system. All Forest Mysteries should now be more evenly spread, and even if you get a very taxing effect in your game, it should be at least partially compensated by other effects.
There are also some highly requested UX/UI improvements in this update. We added the option to prioritize fuel types in Hearths, and we added the option to forbid a need for the entire settlement with one click in the Consumption Control panel.
Fuel prioritization
Lastly, this release also includes quite a lot of bug fixes, a continuation of the Order rebalance started in the last update, as well as some performance improvements. We updated the game’s engine to combat the most notorious stability issues occurring on some newer GPUs, as well as tweaked the graphical presentation of the Scarlet Orchard to be less demanding to render (it turns out that this was our most detailed biome in terms of polycount and textures).
Thank you for providing us with feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:
We also have a little surprise for you. As mentioned earlier, in parallel with the regular updates, we’re also working on the new species and we plan to release them sometime in April. Here’s a little sneak peek of the fox villager (still a work in progress):
Fox villager
We hope you’ll enjoy everything we prepared for you and as always can’t wait to hear your feedback!
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
CHANGELOG
Number of changes: 75 Inspired by community: 73%
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
New content and features
Added a Twitch Integration feature - Forest Guardians vs. Council of Elders chat minigame.
The “Forest Guardians vs. Council of Elders” chat minigame is a way for viewers to directly influence a streamer’s game. Viewers can join two distinct factions: the Forest Guardians (by typing !join forest) or the Council of Elders (by typing !join town). Guardians will try to hinder the streamer, while the Council will try to help.
During a game, each faction has three slots for characters, randomly chosen from their members (who opted in to participate). Each character can enable one of the three abilities by typing commands in the chat. Only viewers currently controlling Guardians or Council Members can use abilities.
Forest Guardians can passively remove food, increase hostility, and slow down glade event progress. Council Members can increase resolve, slow down villager leaving rates, and increase the chance for double yields (the full list of abilities is visible after typing !help in chat).
Forest Guardians have their names displayed above nearby Dangerous Events, while Council Members are assigned to villagers. They can be defeated, in which case they lose control over their character and their active ability is disabled. The next faction member will be selected after a cooldown.
The audience can vote for your in-game choices via native Twitch polls. You can customize the voting mode, channel points usage, and polls' duration in the game's Options (Twitch tab).
The chat minigame can be customized in the options menu (under the “Twitch” tab). You can choose what factions are enabled, how many seconds of cooldown there are (for abilities and viewer slot filling), as well as if the chat commands should use your game’s language.
If you ever forget the rules of the chat minigame, there is now a new Encyclopedia entry explaining everything (and we also prepared a streamer guide, and you can type !help into the chat to learn more).
Please remember that chat commands are localized into the game’s language (unless a checkbox to always use English is enabled in the Options menu).
Added a Twitch Integration feature - chat polls.
The audience can vote for in-game choices via native Twitch polls.
Currently, chat polls support Cornerstones, Blueprints, Orders, Caravans, and Newcomers.
Polls can be customized - you can select the voting mode (automatic, opt-in), if channel points count towards votes, and how long the poll will last (these settings are present under the “Twitch” tab in the Options menu).
Twitch polls require Affiliate or Partner status.
Added 3 new Forest Mysteries.
Drizzle Anomaly - The rain seems to fall... slower. Gain 15 Drizzle Water per minute during the Drizzle.
Scavenging Season - The Drizzle in this region is very mild, making it the perfect season for looting. Increases the chance of bringing back twice as many goods from Glade Events solved during the Drizzle.
Unyielding Corruption - The spreading Corruption strikes fear into the hearts of you villagers. No amount of assurances or flattery can change that. Favoring is unavailable while the Hearth is being corrupted.
Added 2 new Orders.
Restoration - convert glade events into positive decorations.
Gifts for the Queen - choose the “send to Citadel” option when solving glade events.
Balance
⚡ Rebalanced multiple Forest Mysteries.
"Charged" Rain - increased the Hostility level from 4 to 5.
Strange Lights - changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Downpour - increased the Hostility level from 4 to 5.
Nauseous Spores - lowered the Hostility level from 5 to 4. Changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Eerie Song - Changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Greater Threat - increased the Hostility level from 2 to 4. Changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Rotten Rain - increased the Hostility level from 2 to 3. Changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Cloudburst - increased the Hostility level from 3 to 4. Changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by more beneficial positive Mysteries or by less threatening negative ones.
Acid Rain - changed the internal spawn conditions of this Mystery, so it’s accompanied by less beneficial positive Mysteries or by more threatening negative ones.
Faint Flame - decreased the Hostility level from 3 to 2.
Absorption - decreased the Hostility level from 3 to 2.
Grim Fate - changed the effects label from “Very Harsh” to “Devastating”.
Saturated Air - lowered the requirement for used Rainwater to trigger the positive Resolve bonus (from 50 to 30).
Soft Stems - this Mystery was removed entirely.
Reshuffled Forest Mystery groups in different biomes. Previously, there were a few effects that would only spawn in one or two environments - they can now spawn in most biomes.
The changes to the “internal spawn conditions” mentioned in this list are influencing the RNG of different effects, and should lead to a more fair and even distribution (so if you get a very harsh negative Forest Mystery, there is a higher chance it’s accompanied by a very beneficial positive effect).
⚡ Rebalanced multiple orders.
Clothing the People
Objectives: changed the requirement from fulfilling needs at the same time to fulfilling needs in total.
Trade Baron
Objectives: decreased the number of required trade routes from 12/14/16 to 10/12/14.
The Cult of Fire
Objectives: slightly decreased the number of required villagers with the need for Religion fulfilled (on the higher difficulty).
Call of the Ruins (timed)
Time: slightly increased the time limit.
Serving the People
Objectives: lowered the requirement for Pickled Goods, Skewers, and Jerky needs fulfilled from 50/60/70 to 40/50/60.
Venturesome Leader (timed)
Rewards: increased the number of Simple Tools.
Time of Courage (timed)
Rewards: increased the amount of Amber.
Zealous Scouts (timed)
Time: increased the time limit by 30s.
Great Expansion (timed)
Time: increased the time limit by 30s.
Sacrificial Ceremony (timed)
Rewards: removed the Secret Techniques of the Firekeeper perk, added the Smithy Blueprint.
Outerwear (timed)
Objectives: lowered the requirement for simultaneously fulfilled Clothing needs
Reward: Removed the Incense Delivery Line perk, added the Training Gear Delivery Line perk instead.
Beer Snacks (timed)
Rewards: removed Amber, added the Spiced Ale perk.
Trading Master (timed)
Rewards: removed the Tavern blueprint, added the Deep Pockets perk.
Utopia
Objectives: lowered the requirement for fulfilling the need for Jerky, Pie, and Skewers from 14/16/18 to 12/14/16.
Changed the way effects influencing metal production work (Metallurgic Proficiency, Metallurgic Experts, Acid Rain). Previously, they would affect all recipes with metal bars and/or ore in them. Now, they only influence recipes with metal ingots as ingredients, and the production of Copper Bars/Crystalized Dew itself.
UX/UI improvements
⚡ Added the option to prioritize different fuel types in Hearths.
⚡ Added a resource icon showing the currently burned fuel next to the animated flame in the Hearth panel.
⚡ Added a new checkbox to the Consumption Control panel allowing players to forbid a need for all 3 species with just one click.
Bug fixes
⚡ Fixed a bug with the Altar of Decay’s spawn rate.
⚡ Fixed a bug with stone nodes spawned by the Petrified Necropolis modifier disappearing after reloading the game.
⚡ Fixed a bug with the game not saving right after collecting Citadel Resources for a run invalidated by an update.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Untamed Wilds and Dangerous Lands modifiers occurring together in Daily Challenges.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the “expected gain” indication in the Crown Chronicles effect showing incorrect values.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the “expected gain” indication in the Cooking Steam Cornerstone showing incorrect values.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the “expected gain” indication in the Ancient Practices effect showing incorrect values.
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Counterfeit Amber perk being shown in the Greenhouse.
⚡ Fixed an incorrect description for the Piercing Winds Forest Mystery.
⚡ Fixed a bug with recipes in the Rainpunk Foundry not using Sea Marrow.
⚡ Fixed an issue with some Forbidden Glades in the Coral Forest not having enough space for bigger ruins (like the Bath House).
⚡ Fixed an issue with the Ominous Presence modifier description missing information about the effect triggering when villagers leave.
⚡ Fixed a typo in the Japanese version of the Biscuit Recipes perk description.
⚡ Fixed a mistranslation in most yield-increasing perk descriptions in the Simplified Chinese version of the game.
⚡ Fixed a mistranslation in the Safe Haven perk description in Korean.
⚡ Fixed a bug with missing keybinds when using a Hebrew keyboard.
⚡ Fixed a bug with Blightrot Cysts closing when the building they infected was moved during the Storm.
Fixed a bug with the Converted Altar of Decay and the Converted Harmony Altar not having the “harmony” tag in front of their descriptions.
Fixed a bug with the terrain being too dark after changing graphical options mid-game.
Fixed an incorrect description for the Blueprint Reroll upgrade in the Citadel.
Fixed a graphical glitch with the Geyser Pump’s footprint.
Other
⚡ Improved the game's overall performance and stability. It should now crash less (especially on high-end GPUs, as previously there were some isolated cases of frequent crashing), and run at a higher frame rate in general.
⚡ Improved the game’s performance in the Scarlet Orchard. This biome was a bit more demanding than the rest due to more detailed assets and thick foliage. It should now run a lot smoother.
COMMUNITY CORNER
Click to unfold: [expand type="showmore"] Harpy by yeomk2 (Source: Twitter)
For more artwork and memes, visit Steam, Discord, and Reddit. [/expand] As always, we wish you an awesome weekend and hope to see you again in two weeks!
While the main highlight of the upcoming update is the Twitch Integration itself (with chat minigame and chat polls), you can also expect:
Fuel prioritization
Forest Mysteries and Orders rebalance
2 new Forest Mysteries
2 new Orders
And more!
Please make sure you’re ready for the new update and finish your current settlement before the Update goes live tomorrow (sometime between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm UTC).
May the storm be gentle on you, Eremite Games
HOW TO PREPARE
We release new content Updates every two weeks on Thursdays around 2 pm – 4 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.
