Reduced amount of data sent when opening Artifact vault
Greatly improved Artifact data caching
BUGS
Fixed Artifacts not appearing in the correct slot they were socketed into
Fixed Artifact tooltips not appearing on socketed Artifacts
Fixed production not unlocking properly
Fixed additional issues that were causing Artifacts to not spawn for certain building types
Phase III: Hotfix 4
Server-side fix only. No client update is required.
SYSTEM
Fixed several network related bugs that could delay or even block player actions
Further adjustments have been made to the Artifact slot type spawn weights to make more Artifact types spawn properly
A disconnect bug when socketing a lot of Artifacts quickly has been fixed
Phase III: Hotfix 3
GAMEPLAY
Adjusted Treasure spawn rates and locations (Notes
)
Treasures now only spawn around stars that have a Capital planet
Adjusted some Artifact modifier values (Notes
*)
INTERFACE
Artifact modifier "-x% Production cost" for buildings renamed to "-x% Construction cost"
Several improvements to the Planet management interface
BUGS
Fixed issue that could prevent Artifacts for certain Building slots from spawning
Over 800 Artifacts that were "lost in space" have been moved to their owners' Vaults
New Artifacts no longer spawn with modifiers for weird buildings (Notes
*)
Prevented some more modifier conflicts from spawning on new Artifacts (Notes
*)
Artifact socketing now works again (Notes
**)
Goods Production now works again (Notes
**)
NOTES
Overall spawn rate is effectively unchanged. Treasures now spawn more often, but the max unclaimed is lower
* Existing Artifacts are not changed
** There are still cases where socketing and production does not work. I am investigating further!
There are still cases where Artifact modifiers do not work as expected, please report any such issues on the forums
Phase III: Hotfix 2 - Artifacts spawn
BUGS
Phase III: Update 2
Artifact spawning and collection is now all but bug-free, some visual UI glitches remain but nothing major. However, it is late here, and I need to get some sleep before pushing the patch live.
A new countdown has been set. Once it hits 0 you will be able to find and open Treasures containing all manner of Artifacts. Clicking on Artifacts collects them to your Vault, which you can open from the menu in the top left.
Phase III: Server update 1
No client update required, this is a server-only update!
While there were many fixes today none directly make the game more playable. Another hotfix is scheduled for tomorrow, and the countdown has been updated.
I am happy with the amount of things I could fix today, and hopeful that tomorrow will get Artifact spawning working correctly. So you'll be able to hunt for Artifacts and compare loot.
Regarding the bonuses from playing pre-Phase III, fear not, they have been awarded and you'll see them as soon as Treasure spawning is fixed!
SERVER
Phase III shambles on
I expected issues when deploying Phase III, but not quite this many!
As stated in the previous dev-diary, I have decided to push the update live despite the showstopping and game-breaking issues it currently has. Partially to give all you amazing deities access to things as soon as they are fixed, and partially to give myself a reason to fix things faster ;)
A list of all the things that are broken can be found ingame. The game is currently NOT PROPERLY PLAYABLE as core functions are being fixed.
Expect frequent patches, multiple per day most likely, for the next week or so as I work to wrestle Phase III into shape.
If you find an issue that isn't listed in the "Known issues" list please do let me know!
And finally, I am very sorry Phase III arrived in this sad state after such a long wait. I hope to earn back your trust by fixing things in a timely manner in the near future.
Dev. diary: Phase III is coming
Phase III is coming on Friday January 31st. A timer is live on the official site and in-game showing an exact countdown. Once the countdown reaches 0 all services will go offline for several (Probably around 24h) hours of maintenance and updates after which Phase III will finally go live!
What do you need to know in preparation for Phase III? There will not be a wipe/reset, however:
Many building upgrades are gone or changed
Some buildings no longer exist at all
Many resources have changed
All production slots- / -lines will be removed
What that means:
Building upgrades that no longer exist will be downgraded to their original building. For example Quarries will become Mines
Buildings that no longer exist will become treasure loot (Artifacts) for you to collect
All resource stockpiles will be removed and converted to new resource loot for you to collect
You will need to set up new production lines using the new system
In addition to treasures spawned by buildings and stockpiles mentioned above, all players that have a planet will have several treasures spawned around their capital to collect when the patch goes live. The treasure and resource loot generated by removed buildings and resource stockpiles as a result of this update will be locked to your account, you don't have to worry about anyone stealing it (Loot spawned after the patch goes live can be grabbed by anyone!). You can safely collect resource loot even if your stockpiles are full; you will not lose resources because of a full stockpile when collecting treasures.
Due to the many new systems and mechanics introduced it is very likely that there will be issues, hopefully with your help I'll be able to track them down quickly. The new artifact mechanics especially will require your help in fine-tuning to get drop-rates and roll values to feel right.
Here's some clarity on some subjects that I may not have communicated clearly enough:
You will only be able to colonize planets in the same star system as your capital planet. Interstellar colonization is coming later
You will not be able to build fleets to attack other players yet
There will be ways to find loot without having to spend hours daily searching asteroid belts
And finally, happy new year! See you in space, deities!
Dev. Diary: Phase III - Loot and Artifacts
One of the new mechanics coming in Phase III is loot and Artifacts. Loot in the form of Treasures can be found in various places in space or even on planets themselves. Clicking a Treasure will make it spill out its contents such as Artifacts or resources. Collect Artifacts into your Vault by clicking them. Unlike Artifacts, resources are transferred to your Capital planet's stockpile and not your Vault.
Artifacts have two forms of "quality": The tier of the Artifact, and the Rarity of the Artifact. The rarity determines which- and how many- modifiers the Artifact can have. While the Tier determine how good those modifiers can be.
Some Artifacts also come with negative effects and modifiers. Some Artifacts have special effects attached to them. All Artifacts have a specific slot that determines where they can be used. For example a Building Artifact can only be used in Building slots.
So what are Building slots? In Phase III the production and building systems are getting a complete overhaul. Cities are still a thing, and you construct buildings just as before. However many buildings have been removed, along with most building upgrades. Instead building production and specialization is determined by which Artifacts are slotted into that building type. Building and production management is also no longer split per City, but for the entire planet. Unlocking slots cost a Milestone point. These are gained by reaching Population milestones. This means that yes, population now matters, a lot! New buildings are being added, such as Housing districts, that will allow you to reach much higher Population counts than before. There is no limit to how many slots you can unlock. In addition to the Artifacts you can find in Treasures you'll also be able to craft Modules. These Modules when put into a Building slot change what is produced. For example a Forgecraft Module may allow additional goods types to be produced in your Smelteries. Modules can be of high Rarity or Tier if you're lucky. Modules and Artifacts are similar in many ways with the exception that Artifacts can never be crafted, only found, while Modules can be either crafted or found. Artifacts tend to have more generic effects, while Modules tend to focus on specific things such as unlocking new goods for production.
In addition to permanent Artifacts and Modules, some may be time limited. Once the timer expires the Artifact or Module is destroyed. Timed Artifacts and Modules can not be removed once put into a socket, they remain locked until their timer expires. Non-timed Artifacts and Modules can be switched at any time.
If you have any questions feel free to post them below and I'll be sure to answer them in the next dev. diary. The focus of that dev. diary will be the new production and building system and the new mechanic for upgrades and crafting.
Loot teaser
Writing a proper full dev. diary is taking a bit longer than expected as I want to make sure the information and screenshots are as accurate and pretty as possible.
So while the full diary post is not quite ready yet, here's a small teased of things to come:
I know Phase III is taking longer to go live than we'd all like, but rest assured it is being worked on and it'll be well worth the wait! More information coming soon in a full dev. diary detailing the new Treasures and Loot mechanics!
