Merchant of The Skies - 1.1.1 - Quality of Life Update
Hey Merchants!
September 26th is here and it's time for a new patch. We've spent these two weeks on focusing on improving what we already have and adding Russian localization.
Here's the full change list:
Prettier buying / selling / resources acquired effects, extra particles when gathering resources
UX improvements, some storage/inventory windows have "move all" button that is context-dependant (i.e. sell all items @ trade post, store everything you can in storage)
Improved caravan menu / route display on map (made it prettier and also increased performance significantly)
Clicking on the outside of most windows closes them now
Right clicking on most of the (non-critical) windows closes them now
Addition of two new achievements (Built Lighthouse; Supply the Inns)
Russian language support / translations
Humans won't always have a hat now :)
The amount of trade post items depend on trade post level (the more you spend at a trade post, the more item quantity are restored every week)
Captain follows the camera now
Fixed bug with building demolition that prevented the demolition of all other buildings
Different map icon depending on ship owned
Walking humans when you bring them to your base (VERY EXPERIMENTAL, PLEASE REPORT ISSUES AT DISCORD)
Island view is scrollable with mouse wheel now
Writing building level on building descriptors @ map
Stone max stack increased to 16 from 10
Added caravan ship maintenance costs to caravan costs (in addition to fuel costs); caravan fuel costs reduced by 2 times
New Victory Screen
Some hotkeys / gamepad button redrawing
More island names
Separate button for profile / progress deletion in main menu
Scrollable island details window at the navigation screen
As usual, thank you for the extensive feedback. We couldn't implement everything, but it should be the step towards better UX / controls. Expect a big content patch next time :) See you in October and as usual, if you enjoy the game - please consider leaving a short review, this really helps us.
Also if you happen to know German language and can help us by translating a few lines - please let me know :) I won't trouble you too much, promise.
Best, Vladimir
Merchant of the Skies Update 1.1 - Caravans, New Game Goal, French and German
Hey Merchants!
We're happy to announce that the new caravan update is live now! The main thing it brings into the game is the caravan system.
The caravan system allows you to automate routes to transport goods between your bases, sell or buy them at trade posts and unload them at the inns to complete new objective.
The caravans are purchasable at a new building, caravan office, that you can build at the base.
The inns, you ask?
Together with the caravans, we are adding a new game mode, "supply the inns." Inns, a new buildings, will be generated in towns (only on new playthroughs). You can bring bread and apple juice to them and they resell it further (for a hefty price!). if you keep bringing the bread and juice, they will be selling those over the next days. If you keep the supply steady, the loyalty factor with them will increase and you'll be getting bigger payouts.
The goal of the new game mode is to keep the inns happy by constantly supplying bread and juice. If you choose to supply 2 inns, it can probably be done manually. However, if you go for 3 or more, you'll need the automation system.
This game objective should be quite long and require a good amount of planning and patience, so we wish you luck and are eager to hear your feedback from it.
Languages
Finally, with the help of our amazing volunteers, we were able to translate the game into French and German. The translations run in experimental mode, so expect some possible mistakes, but we'll be hotfixing them ASAP if something comes up.
We're also increasing the price a bit to reflect more content the game has to offer now. Thanks to all who supported us! If you hurry - you can get the game for the old price at Humble store. We'll also try to arrange one discount closer to November to give you one more chance to grab the game at an old price.
As usual, we welcome all sorts of criticism and feedback, so if you encounter any bugs or have improvement suggestions - let us know. The next patch will focus on quality of life changes and graphical adjustments. Afterwards we'll focus on bringing you the bigger map.
Happy playing!
Patch Summary
New Game Mode: Supply The Inns - bring bread / apple juice. If you select 2 inns - you might complete it without caravans, but if you go for more - you'll definitely need the help of other ships.
New buildings:
Inn - spawns in some cities (only in new games); bring it bread and apple juice so it can resell it over the days; as long as you keep supplies going - you get increased amounts of money.
Caravan Office - Buildable building, 2000 gold, 20 bricks, 20 lumber. Used as a ship hangar and allows you to plot caravan paths.
Community Translations:
German (thanks to Jovan, Somnium)
French (thank to Moetel, KSS)
New Features:
Can now sell ships for 40% / purchase the new ones from the money back.
Adjustments:
Fast-Forward button now "eats" fuel (at 4x rate, but it equals to what you'd be consuming as if you were travelling); this was needed for better balancing/late-game
Added automatic save backup in case something goes wrong (hopefully it won't, but we'll be able to try and restore your old save in case things went wrong)
Max stack of wheat is up to 160 from 80; trade posts will have more of it. Expect this to go back to before when we actually introduce a way to grow wheat.
Bugfixes:
Settings screen won't show under fast-forward button anymore
Tab key won't open bottom menu anymore (to prevent conflicts with steam overlay); it was mostly used for gamepads anyway, but the new button is "T" if you were using it to navigate with keyboard for some reason
If you were trying to sell resources for exactly the amount of money trade post had, it would reject you.
A look into upcoming caravan update, planned price increase
Hey Merchants!
As September 12 draws near, here's what the upcoming update entails. First of all, the long anticipated caravan/automation system. As we developed Merchant of the Skies, I always thought that it's going to be quite a late addition into the game, but since so many of you have been asking for it - we've decided to give it a go now :) Here's a brief look on how it is going to look:
Still work in progress, but you can see how it works
The patch is going to introduce a new building, caravan office.
As soon as it is built, the new ships you purchase can be stored in it and used to haul cargo.
You'll be able to plot routes to trade posts and back to your base. You can buy, sell, load and unload goods into your caravans, enabling basic resource trade and transportation between different islands.
With that, we're adding a new goal / game mode, "Supply the inns." A new building, inn, is randomly introduced in some islands. It consumes bread and apple juice daily. You need to make sure all of the inns receive their supplies and keep feeding their customers (you also get paid for that!).
We're also working on bringing French and German localisations into the game, will let you know once they go live.
Apart from that, I wanted to thank you for the amazing feedback we've been receiving. The new feature will increase the depth of the game, so we feel this is right to increase the asking price a bit. The new price is going to be 9.99 EUR or regional equivalent. It will be in effect on Sep 12.
Hotfix
Hey! Got some news about autostacking issues and finally found the reason. Patched it just now.
Brief list of changes:
autostacking appears to be working as intended, won't go above the limit
fixed the bug when bazaar demand would not go down every new week
extended / fixed some translation line UI
Update 1.0.7 - Rebalancing, Cards, Community Translations
Hey merchants!
This update, we've focused on rebalancing and adding depth to the game. Also, to get something out of the way: we were finally allowed to introduce cards into Merchant of the Skies :) The foil badge is pretty epic.
We are also starting to look for community translations: there's a special website to do the translation in a straightforward manner, but please join our discord to discuss this further if you want to help ( you don't have to do the whole translation, it's a simple interface with entry fields vs original text in english; every bit helps).
Anyway, here goes the actual patch notes:
New features:
> week indicators (I - VI numbers under calendar), after week 4, trade post prices are refreshed (either by 1 index up or 1 index down, never changes too much)
> average price which you've paid for the item at trading posts is saved now
> trade posts have limited amount of money; money is refreshed on trade post "resupply day"; the more you trade with a tradepost, the more money it has on refresh days.
> selling items with a profit on trade posts gives you exp
> demand bar at the bazaars: if you sell the items too much, the min/max value for which you can sell is lowered
> bazaar demand goes up a bit by every week (so if you stop selling an item, it will go back to normal after a few weeks). Alternatively, selling multiple different items makes sure the demand is balanced.
> price index based on zoning (each trade post resource has the "origin" point on the map, the further trade posts are from that point, the higher the price). This should allow for improved trade routes / deeper planning and less exploits. You don't see the zones in-game, at least yet. Just letting you know how the pricing works now.
Tweaks and changes:
> Spyglass is now unique (can't install multiple spyglasses on one ship)
> Modules transfer on ship purchase
> level bar added in skill menu
> After you close the container, the items are optimized/autoarranged (you won't be getting rock stacks of 2,3,5 amounts spread out through different slots)
> Holding ctrl on keyboard hides the "Visit" button on the map
> Quest log rework
> Changed how quest indicator looks on the map
Community translations! There's a website with simple inputs that allows to run community translations. If you want to help translate the game to your language - join the discord and find out more.
Now, actual rebalancing numbers:
Bread base cost: 12 -> 35
Glass: 100->50
Glass Bottle: 40->30
Gear: 90->70
Medicine: 100 -> 150
Apple Juice: 80->120
Island prices:
* Apple Island 100->500
* Forest Island 200->425
* Gem Island 1000->4250
* Iron Island 500->1050
* Stone Island 350->600
Buildings:
Oven: wood/stone requirements up to 15 from 5
Forge: brick/iron requirements up to 15 and 9 from 5 and 3
Alchemist: brick / lumber requirements up to 8 from 5
Gem Mine Base gold cost 700 -> 1000
Reduced module costs for iron pickaxes, axes, baskets by 2 times
After this update we're going to fully concentrate on caravans/automation. But as usual - if you encounter any bugs or issues - let us know asap. QoL suggestions are also appreciated. Cheers and keep the feedback coming!
Best,
Vladimir
1.0.6 update - quests, quests!
Hey Merchants,
During the launch week it has become clear that the quests feel repetitive and not rewarding enough. In this update, we are addressing this. Expect it to be a start, not a final state. But it should set the direction where we want to go :)
Quest system improvements
Tourism quests added to houses
Item fetch quests become progressively harder (and progressively more rewarding) as you gain reputation with the trade guils
Item fetch quests can ask you deliver items to other islands (before that they ask you to deliver stuff to the same island only)
Shipwright lumber delivery quests (take them at the shipwrights) - reputation decreases ship prices.
New currency - guild tickets
Awarded for completing the quests. Can be:
1) Spent to purchase Special modules (at new island, see the picture above!)
2) Tradeed in for reduced tax @ trade posts
New modules, purchasable with guild tickets:
Spyglass (increases your view range in navigation view and allows you to see the buildings on unvisited islands)
Sturdy pickaxes (mine all resources as lesser wear)
Magic Sails (move 25% faster, stacks with stronger sails)
Autocharger - charges your ship automatically when you visit port (and actually takes the money for that, so be careful; luxury item)
Tweaks:
When you buy a new ship, it has 50% charge now (no more sudden bankrupcies!)
Bottom ship panel status is saved across screens and game restarts
Moved reputation panel to the right (will no longer interrupt picking new quest / interacting with the building)
Carrot will show reputation growth even when you don't gain levels (you could increase reward levels before if you participated in minigame)
Carrot will now talk to you in the interaction menu (we're experimenting)
Changed resolution of main objective goal mark in map ui
Whenever you hire crew at a house, the people will march towards your ship
Bumped the gold game objective numbers (increased each roughly by 2 times)
Can only have one lumberjack / apple gatherer on an island from now on
More city names as suggested
"When is the next update" panel so you can be informed. Expect bi-weekly content updates (unless something huge is planned). Also hotfixes will be released ASAP and don't match this schedule.
Bugfixes:
Bazaar no longer "eats" surplus items that it has no slots for
Bazaar will correctly display stack price on multiple stacks of the same item
Visual look of ship upgrade menu changes: now module buttons won't go over borders when upgrading bigger ship
The old saves are going to work, but new quest island content (trading hub) is going to be available only on newly generated maps. You also won't always be getting the travel quests (not all travel objects are on the old maps). So yes - if you can, please start a new session.
Apart from that - we were overwhelmed by your feedback, but were really happy to receive it. Keep the reports/suggestions coming :) we might not implement it right away, but we sure appreciate hearing from you and try to gradually improve the game.
Best,
Vladimir
1.0.5 patch - bugfixes
Hey!
Remember I told you there won't be a patch until Aug 9? Well I think I was wrong.
Here's the bugfix list for today:
Capped the frame rate (should prevent from GPU overheating / using max possible power).
Bottom menu is turning off correctly on Y (gamepad) / TAB press in map navigation scene
After completing lighthouse objective, option to upgrade will not show
Made horizontal scrolling with keyboard keys smoother
Fixed the bug which would sell repeated stacks of items at the bazaar for zero
Nerfed the bazaar max price (min remains the same); you all are right, it is too strong right now. Treat it as a temporary solution for further rebalancing.
Victory window will no longer reopen multiple times if you are traing at the bazaar
Fixed the rare issue when quests would point to a broken locations without trade guild / become impossible to complete
Added some city name variations (thanks Moetel and Lukalot, if anyone has any name prefix (Sea, South, Land) or postfix (-shire,- ham, -etc) suggestions - post them under this thread).
Hope if helps :) If you were affected by any of these - really sorry. I'll be still addressing the most urgent things, but mostly I'll be spending my time working on a quest update/rework. Expect it on Aug 9.
Best,
Vladimir
Update 1.0.4 - too big to fail
Hey Merchants!
Due to some good feedback, I'm introducing the patch 1.0.4, "too big to fail":
Two major changes:
1) You can continue after finishing the game. Just go back to the same game from the menu. If you don't want to continue the old game, just pick "no" when it asks you to continue the game and then "yes" when it asks if you want to start the game anew.
2) If you go bankrupt, the bank will bail you out:
2.1) If you have enough money in the bank, those are taken, you owe nothing
2.2) If you don't have enough money in the bank, the bank loans you the money, but you need to pay it back. If you don't pay it back and go bankrupt again - the game is lost permanently.
I think this should solve two major ux issues:
sudden loss and expectations to continue the game after clearing the main goal :)
Minor bugfix:
- one day will actually pass now (after you trade in Bazaar and return to map)
Hope you enjoy it.
Best,
Vladimir
Merchant of the Skies 1.0.3 - bazaar buff and fast-forward button
Hey Merchants!
Thanks to your feedback, I am able to improve the game :) Patch 1.0.3 is live. First of all, feature adjustments:
fast-forward button on map screen
it was a popular request so it only makes sense to add it :) Fast-forward time at 4x speed without actually moving your ship.
significant bazaar buff: minimum price is set to a base price of the item (up from zero), chance to sell it is 95%. Max price is 3x actual price of the item. The sale chance in that case still remains the same as before, 5%.
Some other adjustments:
crafting bug fixed (resoruces will now be used properly). This would also probably lengthen the playthrough time :)
sails don't stack, can only install one
enable opengl rendering on windows (in case the game shows blank screen or crashes, go to steam library -> find merchant of the skies -> properties -> set launch options -> write "-force-glcore -force-glcore42" without quotes -> run the game through steam)
ui changes to allow for different resolutions
balancing: significantly increased gem island price (2500 from 1000) because as it is now, it breaks even _very_ fast
right click to mark items in ship storage display (from bottom left menu) works properly now
fix biggest ship storage so it does not overlap tax panel
increased island name variety a bit
increase the island storage upgrade levels by 2
improved bazaar purchase visual effect
bugfix: you could only check out other island info (by hovering mouse) only when your ship was on top of another island already
I'm going to take a break over the weekend, so expect slower reply times :) Thank you for your help and support during the release. As usual, if you enjoy the game - please consider leaving a good review as this helps with store visibility. More than anything, hope you enjoy the changes and keep the feedback coming!
Best,
Vladimir
Patch 1.0.2: Item Marking
Hey guys!
One of the common things that was mentioned over these days have been the lack of in-game means to remember necessary items. To start addressing this, today's patch introduces the item marking system. You can simply right click / press Y button on gamepad to set the item as "marked" and to remember. The system is going to be enhanced a bit later (i.e. to mark all resources needed to build the building automatically when you press some button).
The changes are live. Here's the full changelist for today:
> marking items with right click / Y button on gamepad
> tutorial can now be replayed
> ui: visit button will now be shown higher when ship info panel is open on navigation screen
> replaced building sound
> balance: base apple price down by 20%; apple gatherer base building price up from 2 wood -> 5 wood; 100 gold -> 150 gold
> ui/ux: won't be able to navigate to confirm/cancel buttons on resource containers anymore (use X/B buttons to accept or cancel trade)
> fixed icon problem with oven
> minor graphical bugfixes
> typo fixes
> version number on front page (should be 1.02 now!)
I know a lot of you have posted some feedback over these two days and I want you to be sure that everything is noted. I can't fix everything at once, but I'm trying to do the changes gradually so hopefully the game becomes better with every patch :) Keep these comments coming.
