This updates introduces some changes to resource/money balance so all feedback is welcome. There was a change in how trading works. Some players might consider it too easy, but the current solution is not final. More like it lays some foundation for future additions.
Added/changed:
Fixed:
Alpha 3 patch 2
Added/changed:
Fixed:
Alpha 3 patch 1
Added/changed:
Fixed:
Alpha 3 hotfix 3
A little more fixes. Thanks again everyone for reports!
Added:
Fixed:
Alpha 3 hotfix 2
A little more fixes. Thanks everyone for reports (still going through my backlog)
Added:
Fixed:
Alpha 3 hotfix 1
Traditional quick fixes after release!
There's also a known issue of workers getting stuck on the field. If you have a save before this happens, please send me at yevheniy@ostrivgame.com
Added/changed
Fixed
More fixes coming soon. Thanks for backlogging me with feedback!
Yevheniy
Alpha 3 released!
When I started the development of Ostriv alone back in 2014, my country was experiencing quite an uneasy time in its history. But this project managed to change my life and, judging by the enormous amount of feedback I was getting, it gave a lot of hope to a lot of folks around the world. In the course of these years I went from a part-time solo development to full-time with a team of 3 helping me out. All thanks to 20 thousands awesome people who believed in the project and purchased the early alpha. I also want to thank everyone who spread the word on Youtube, Twitch, and (occasionally) gaming press. Without you I'd never reach those thousands of people! I have to say, just a few years ago, I wouldn't even imagine seeing videos of someone in Thailand or Japan building their own Ukrainian villages. I hope this game will bring you some joy and calmness (of course if you're lucky enough to run it without crashes) during this time, uneasy for the whole world, or at least a good reason to stay at home. Take care and please don't buy any more toilet paper!
Now to what's new in Alpha 3:
Added/changed:
New building: Wagon shed
New building: Stable
New building: Saddlery
New building: Limeworks
New building: Lime kiln
There are now stone and limestone deposits on maps
New building: Mining camp
New building: Church
Significantly optimized performance, especially in big towns on faster game speeds (When porting old saves it may need some time on 1x speed to improve)
Can now produce horseshoes at the smithy
Now showing current field status in farm's field list
Raised the metal parts selling price by 5x
Name of workplace in citizen's properties and family tree is now clickable
Animal death of starvation and thirst are now more sparsely spaced in time
Added an icon to tell the crop harvest from processed resource
Threshing is now evenly distributed between crops
Now showing how much more resources required for construction
A bit more color variety for autumn leaves
Showing warning when trying to buy animals before there's a place to keep them
Granary workers will now supply to nearby shops if no other work
Now showing how many resources required for a carpentry order
Thatchers are now using multiple points to gather reeds, also being smarter about newly accessible points (after bridges built) and obstructed points (less teleporting)
Windmill now uses the same supply options as other buildings
Added animation and sound for chopping trees
Citizens are now smarter about finding shortest distances. A is now closer than B
Zooming out to fit the focused object on a screen (following mode, searching buildings)
Added clay digging animation
Improved model for horses with texture variation
Hay barracks are now being built just like other buildings
Added a minimal bridge height over water level
Added a button for quick access to the town hall building
Now using a current user's Documents folder for saves and settings
Fixed:
Tannery batch size slider didn't work properly
Pigs didn't reproduce when livestock = limit
Could store unprocessed buckwheat harvest in the warehouse
Sometimes it was impossible to demolish a fallow field
Windmills stopped rotating in older towns
Uneven terrain restriction didn't work in several recent patches
Carts had visual glitches on bridges
Wife's parents didn't have their own last name (works for new games only)
Weird navigation around field and village house entries
Female fertility wasn't limited by old age
Trade deal slider showed wrong numbers when switching between deals
Starting camp placement had unwanted offset applied
In some cases it was possible to stack multiple constructions on top of each other
Planted trees were removed instantly when built on (even the old ones)
Foresters ignored trees accessible by built bridges
Couldn't copy buckwheat field with eyedropper tool
Cows left on the field if trying to relocate at the end of pasture season
Memory overflow (crash or glitches farm fields) when playing for a long time straight
Entering big numbers in text field made them negative
Workers avoided moving resources to trading posts when emptying buildings
Demolishing and then cancelling on windmill created navigational anomalies leading to walking through buildings around it
Crash once winter starts in some games
Multiple cowsheds could use a same pasture, breaking several game mechanics
Farm workers needlessly visited field entry when harvesting
Two coastal buildings being constructed on opposite sides of the river created a breach for water-walking
Crash when demolishing a bench waiting for trees to be removed
Boatyards used too small amounts of wood for boat construction/repair
Chicken relocation had several issues (like dead locks)
It was sometimes possible to start construction on the other side of the river before the bridge has been built (thus teleporting and other issues)
Some bridge builders decided to live underground
Navigation around windmill was a bit broken if game saved while turning its body
Bridge construction ignored trees
Could duplicate resources in trading posts and warehouses leading to weird behavior
Various small UI fixes
To port your old saves to Alpha 3, run the updated game at least once. Then copy "save" folder from your game's directory to Ostriv subdirectory of your documents (usually in c:/Users/USERNAME/Documents/Ostriv). You can do the same with the file "settings.data" to port your settings.
Regarding the Steam keys to early purchasers from ostrivgame.com, I'm still waiting for Valve to send me the requested keys. Will inform you as soon as I can!
Alpha 3 trailer and impending release
The game build is currently on review by Steam team. Meanwhile, let's check out the new trailer!
[previewyoutube="bgdchTZJ78k;full"]
Later I'll post a detailed list of additions and fixes. Everyone who purchased the game, will get a Steam key in coming days.
Yevheniy
Alpha 3 development update
It took some time for me to realize that Alpha 3 is going to be the biggest content update Ostriv had since the initial alpha release on ostrivgame.com. And the thing is this update can not be divided in smaller patches since all the new stuff is connected. There are several new production chains, which are connected to construction: we will produce lime and bricks, dig up sand and stones to construct the next-level buildings. At the very least 8 new buildings are coming, including new types of houses.
I spent some (quite some, actually) time to expand the development team, so the work should speed up a bit from now on. But still it's very unlikely to be able to finish everything by the end of the year. So the only way to make sure this new update will be as good as you all expect it to be is to move the release date to Q1 2020.
Thank you for your patience!
Yevheniy
Alpha 2 patch 4
This update has a great chance to become the last one before the Steam release. I decided to put these patch notes here on Steam as well to let you know how's it going with development. In coming months I’ll be putting more effort to prepare for Early Access release along with a big content update, namely Alpha 3. Later I'll be sharing some more info on upcoming features.
Also just to remind to current owners that if you have bought the game directly from ostrivgame.com, there’s no need to buy it again: Steam activation keys will be provided to you for free once the game released on Steam.
Now to what’s new in patch 4.
Added/changed:
Redesigned the numeric system to show integer numbers. No more decimal points
The game will now notify on the main screen if an update is available
Added text descriptions about raw materials shortage in several buildings
Added an ability to customize the look of market stalls. This feature will later be also implemented for other buildings
Citizens can now buy multiple food items from market stalls at a time if they are sold nearby
Now showing which resources are missing for the tanning batch
The hay dryer now shows wet grass in right color
Increased an amount of nails recovered from demolishing (50% to 80%)
Decreased pig food consumption by 25%
Now showing how many families are still living in tents
Slightly optimized rendering with shadows disabled
Now showing for how long current food/water stock gonna last in cowsheds, pigsties and chicken coops
Added another autosave level autosave_previous_previous to be able to go back further
Fixed:
Chickens didn't lay eggs if no wheat in storage
Tailors didn't start production if textile amount is <0.5 while batch only needs 0.1
It was possible to create an oversized field causing glitches and/or crashes
Could only trade 20 nails at a time
Laborers could sometimes get stuck as if they are hired workers
Sometimes adult males were accidentally married to underage girls