Today we would like to tell you something about new assets that you will be able to find in 1.10.
You will be able to find a lot of new underwater objects such as Giant Starfish, Giant Sea Cucumber, Giant Sea Urchin... and many more things that may or may not be also Giant.
Speaking of underwater assets - we are fully aware that in the 1.9 we pressured players too much to go into depths and get ingredients for various recipes, even such that would be possible to craft without those. That is something we are planning to adjust for 1.10 as part of a massive rebalancing which, we believe, will address a lot of issues you've been reporting. We plan to talk about that in the next Dev Diary.
To make travelling the seas more fun in 1.10 you will also find new ornated ships bows, big steam and ylandium engines and a brand new motorboat. To make it easier to sail to other ylands there's a new primitive ship waiting to be crafted.
Based on your feedback we'll be releasing also objects that are not related to sailing such as a glass door or a scroll.
That's it for today and we're looking forward to talking to you next week when we'll discuss the general improvements planned for Exploration. Until then have fun and stay classy!
1.9.0.2 Patch Changelog
Patch 1.9.0.2 release notes
The Exploration option in the main menu was overlapping
Tutorial's bugs fixed
The translations string could be seen in the chat
Ship engines won't turn on in several cases
Additions [YLD-36592] Added: A new touch button for switching between sails and engines when the ship has both. The mobile button will work with a simple tap, the PC binding will still use a right-mouse hold. [YLD-36629] Added: Drop item hotkey binding for inventory. [YLD-36986] Added: When clicking an ingredient in the workstation screen's recipe, the player is now actually provided with some info. [YLD-36986] Added: Non-craftable items' warning about the item being found in the world will now also show the description for the item, providing the player with a bit more info on where to find it. [YLD-37005] Added: Unequip button to inventory's right panel, the logic for swapping equip and unequip buttons. [YLD-37009] Added: Drop function for animal milking/shearing with full inventory. Added: Separate actions for switching to engines and sails to allow for separate predicates and icon binding - for touch only, the desktop will still have the previous toggling through the hold. Added: Text note about not working on protected scenarios into "Others can download and edit" editor setting on-hover hint.
Tweaked [YLD-36435] Tweaked: Mobile: Updating removes friend/clan options in the chat system. [YLD-36682] Tweaked: Sails are now transparent when the player is behind them. [YLD-37054] Tweaked: Editor: you get now error when you try to playtest the game with an empty Entity template or Game logic template. Tweaked: Increase oxygen coral occurrence in UW biotopes. Tweaked: Compositions for vendors now contain indestructible entities to prevent deconstruction.
Fixes [YLD-34704] Fixed: Random encounters: cave encounters spawn without any entity. [YLD-35621] Fixed: Missing names and colons in GAME chat and CLAN chat [YLD-36276] Fixed: The client could sometimes not reconnect when he tried to respawn while having his pet summoned. [YLD-36409] Fixed: No more problems with connecting exploration games with sandbox games. [YLD-36424] Fixed: Harvested oxygen coral plant instantly change to fresh one when placed. [YLD-36443] Fixed: Some animals cannot be placed on the first try. [YLD-36562] Fixed: Pipe Block's 3rd channel is now colourable. [YLD-36573] Fixed: The custom instruction parameter doesn't inherit the custom colour of its parent tile. [YLD-36647] Fixed: Floating hints should have all elements correctly vertically aligned (e.g. the holding text etc.). [YLD-36682] Fixed: In some scenarios, sails are not transparent. [YLD-36739] Fixed: If you redeem explore DLC, you will get a costume and pet after restarting the game (now it happens immediately). [YLD-36767] Fixed: There is no error when referencing objects from Group referenced with Group template which is marked to destroy the group on export. [YLD-36768] Fixed: Animators do not work in Random Encounters. [YLD-36779] Fixed: Item description in mobile inventory can no longer be scrolled out of the screen. [YLD-36790] Fixed: Fish Net Grip. [YLD-36911] Fixed: Leopard shark is slower than the rest of the sharks. [YLD-36941] Fixed: Pulsing/Glowing Mushroom Trees and Pulsing/Glowing Polyporus Trees don't react to wind at all. [YLD-36960] Fixed: Redundant 3rd colour layer of the harvestable Brown Kelp plant. [YLD-36968] Fixed: When the air tank is equipped from the vicinity, the air is not refilled. [YLD-36978] Fixed: Some strings in Skill Editor in the Editor are missing translation. [YLD-36993] Fixed: Combat music should stop now properly when teleporting. [YLD-36995] Fixed: Locked Oxygen Harvester can be normally used. [YLD-37001] Fixed: Marble block 1x1x2 wrong loads. [YLD-37015] Fixed: Insufficient glow of harvestable Red Kelp plant. [YLD-37077] Fixed: Underwater cave REs spawn in the middle of the room instead of the floor. [YLD-37148] Fixed: Account link: create new account button does nothing if you are not in the home window. [YLD-37279] Fixed: Loot containers not spawning in deep water (voxel -2 or less). [YLD-37285] Fixed: Sometimes ships are teleported away after they are spawned into the world. [YLD-37287] Fixed: /r command to reply was not working. [YLD-37288] Fixed: Whisper command remembers the wrong user. [YLD-37302] Fixed: Exploration 2: Mutated alphas are defeated when they are despawned during the day. [YLD-37482] Fixed: Correct NPC names in chat [YLD-37484] Fixed: Hint for dropping an item will not be present on the Cube screen. [YLD-37504] Fixed: Random Encounters: Crates of REs in underwater caves may be inaccessible due to clipping into terrain [YLD-37938] Fixed: Untranslated texts found in the Exploration mode news popup. Fixed: Several bugs in the tutorial.
[YLD-36824] Fixed: Editor: Global variables created in the referenced entity in Template GL. [YLD-37026] Fixed: Editor: Exception after deleting entity with a faulty script and using the Game Log search bar. [YLD-37124] Fixed: Editor: Exception after placing some entity into NPC's inventory. [YLD-37268] Fixed: Editor: animated GLs/Entities as part of Group template prevents playtest.
[YLD-36571] Fixed: VS: Custom instruction variables do not have always the correct custom colour. [YLD-37034] Fixed: VS: dynamic trigger zones can slow down clients. [YLD-37128] Fixed: VS: array variables with specified type have wrong embedded tile in the menu. [YLD-37130] Fixed: VS: there is an error when deleting the last switch branch. [YLD-37228] Fixed: VS: Infinite exception when spawning from Group Template a group with delayed function in its child. [YLD-37238] Fixed: VS: it is not possible to hide in properties previously shown global variables.
Dev Diary #224 Exploration & Creators: The Ultimate Combo
Hey there, fellow Ylanders!
We're working hard on update 1.10 and since update 1.5 it's always been about Exploration first. This is not going to change, but we understand that the ones who like to create cool contraptions or worlds in the Editor might feel neglected, which is why the past few updates brought a lot of Editor and scripting improvements as well.
So today we would like to let the Creators know, what the near future holds for them.
We are currently working on something we internally call "Custom Exploration". We've already mentioned it in our Dev Diaries, but let us remind you what it's all about.
We want to let Creators build ylands in the Editor (or in the Sandbox mode) that players will be able to visit with their ships from the Exploration world. This will result in much more than the ability to create a cool "home" for you with the help of cool things that only the Editor offers. We are going to add incentives for Creators to come up with cool experiences for players who want something more than what Exploration currently offers. At the same time, it will be something that is based on the core Exploration gameplay. You can think of it as Mystery Ylands... created by players for players, friends or strangers alike.
We will reward Explorers for sailing to these worlds and leaving notes and ratings for others if what they found is worth experiencing.
This feature was originally planned for 1.10, but we now see that the first version would be too rough around the edges and missing some of the cool things that make it interesting. So we decided to take more time working on it and will release it in 1.11 in a better shape and with more tools and documentation ready for the Creators. We will also be giving the Creators enough information in advance so that their creations can be available to players as soon as 1.11 is released.
The Editor and content creation will get much more love not just thanks to "Custom Exploration", but also thanks to Ylands EDU version, which is doing surprisingly well and which, in the end, seems to be something that the Ylands game will profit from even more than we expected. But that's a story for a different time :).
We're looking forward to talking to you the next week. Until then - stay classy!
Dev Diary #223 What You Ask Is What You Get
Hey there, fellow Ylanders!
Let's talk about yet another thing that you will get to find in the next update because you asked for it ːsteamhappyː.
Several of you told us about how annoying it is you are not able to eat while exploring while riding a horse or, more importantly, hold a compass (so you can tell where you're going). This is something that wasn't initially even planned for 1.10 but since this suggestion keeps appearing, we decided to squeeze it in.
Oh, and did we mention that because you will now be able to hold items while riding you can travel through the darkness while holding a torch or a lantern?
Anyway, the moral of the story is as always - the more you talk to us, the better the game gets. Thanks for all your feedback!
That's it for today and we'll talk to you again next week. Until then stay healthy and classy, Ylanders!
Dev Diary #222 When the Prints Go Blue
Hey there, fellow Ylanders!
Firstly we would like to thank you for the huge amount of feedback we got based on the last Dev Diary. It's just awesome to see how much thought many of you have put into it! <3 We're still looking into it and discussing it, and will comment on some of the points soon.
Today we would like to share a bit more information about the Blueprints update we're planning for the next update. So far you your options to build something awesome and (re)use it in Exploration as a Blueprint were extremely limited. That shouldn't be the case anymore.
If all goes well, in 1.10 we'll introduce some rather big changes to Blueprints. Blueprints and Compositions will turn into two types of Blueprints (naming can change) - Explorer and Creator Blueprints.
Let us share a bit more about their specifics:
Creator Blueprints are pretty much what Compositions were (and your existing Compositions, will, in fact, be considered Creator Blueprints). Within those you will be able to store pretty much everything you create in the Editor. However, those will be usable only in the Editor.
Explorer Blueprints will be usable in both Exploration and the Editor. The biggest change when compared to pre-1.10 Blueprints is, that you can create those in the Editor and then use in your Exploration world. Also, they can contain much more than just building blocks. You can have a Blueprint of a house, filled with items, surrounded by a garden with flowers and trees.
In 1.10 you will be able to use these only locally and we'll check if it all works as intended and improve it based on your feedback. In 1.11 we will add advanced options of sharing and monetizing for creators of both kinds of Blueprints.
Even though it will become much easier to create amazing Blueprints and use them in the Exploration, don't forget that they're still just that - something that requires your effort to get all the resources (be it materials or specific items) to build it. The more sophisticated the blueprint, the more effort you'll need to build it.
That's it for this week, as always, let us know what you think and on top of that...
Stay classy, Ylanders!
Dev Diary #221 Rebalancing the Future
Hey there, Ylanders!
It's been a while since Ocean Odysseys was released and yet we still keep getting more and more feedback about the update - which is what we like to see!
Your feedback helps us make the game better and more enjoyable for you, and also us (the devs play Ylands too of course!).
So this week's Dev Diary will focus on making changes that may not be immediately apparent but will immensely improve the game. Let's talk about balancing and rebalancing.
A lot of the feedback you are sending our way has to do with a lot of different little elements, which is why we said that it was about time we took a sweeping look at Ylands and balanced some of its parts.
One such part, for instance is biomes. Biomes now offer little more than different flora and fauna but other than that they are quite similar when it comes to gameplay. This is something we're looking into and would like to give more meaning to the biomes and hint at what difficulty ylands you might expect in each biome, rather than give away the difficulty using the yland tier system. This is, of course, very much work in progress still, but we're excited to be exploring this direction.
Another crucial part of the game is crafting. This is yet another area where we feel we need some enrichment of the whole process. So currently we're looking at the possibility of more crafting stations and a more meaningful crafting process in general.
We also feel like the hunger and temperature systems deserve some love, which is why tweaks and reworks are being explored in this area.
What type of balancing would you like to see in ylands? Let us know!
And till next time...
Stay classy, Ylanders!
Dev Diary #220 Those tiny, annoying things...
Hey there, fellow Ylanders!
Most of the features and tweaks and fixes you find in Ylands' updates do come from your feedback. However - we are players as well. And we play Ylands as well. And yes, from time to time we too get angry and frustrated by what we experience.
Some time ago we had an internal poll where we asked the team what small, easy to fix things annoy them the most. Because those are minor issues that shouldn't take that long to fix or implement, you will very likely see some of them fixed in the next update. So, here are some examples of what the devs themselves put on that list:
Show particle/visual effect on workstation while something is being crafted in it
When I travel into a new Yland, spawn the ship in the 'free-to-travel' zone instead of outside of it so that I can change my mind and immediately travel elsewhere without needing to turn the ship around and sail into the travel zone again.
Be able to light a torch in hand without going to inventory
Button to dismiss all "NEW" notifications from crafting
Allow players to change weapons when reloading (crossbow or any weapon). Often I'm stuck reloading when I want to fight.
Make it more obvious that the player is receiving damage
Do some of those annoy you as well? Are there other things that you think could be easy to change but would make a difference?
Next week we can talk about any ideas you throw at us. Until then stay healthy and classy!
Patch 1.9.0.1 Changelog
Hey there, Ylanders!
The latest patch is out!
We've fixed up some issues and tweaked a few things based on your feedback, so here it is:
Highlights
Tweaked shark damage values.
Diving gear resistances updated.
Terrain generation fixed.
Spawning to a different place after reconnection fixed.
Tutorial: Cannot use crafting after reconnection fixed.
Fixed/Tweaked/Removed Fixed: Exploration: Some mountains grew taller than they should be after the update. Fixed: Player can appear at a random beach after reconnecting if they previously had ship summoned near shore. Fixed: Weather: It is raining inside built from blueprints. Fixed: Crafting stopped working during the tutorial after reconnection. Fixed: When crafting items that cannot fit into full inventory, quantities of ingredients are not updated. Fixed/Removed: Machine guns (and related recipes) that remained - unintentionally - in players' worlds. The removal was necessary to prevent balancing issues with updates 1.10 and 1.11. Tweaked: Diving gear resistances to shark attack. Tweaked: Damage dealt by shark.
Dev Diary #219 Answers? For Shore!
Hey there, fellow Ylanders!
Update 1.9, Ocean Odysseys, is finally out and we're glad that you like this latest expansion of Exploration world. We've fixed and balanced a lot of issues based on the feedback you provided after playing the Experimental game branch ("beta"). We're extremely grateful and will continue to monitor your ideas and comments so that we can further improve what we've released.
Any new update always brings a lot of questions, so we'll do our best to answer the ones you've been asking the most. If you don't find what you're looking for below, don't despair - we'll be doing a special live stream soon and you'll be able to ask us, once again, about anything.
Where can I find _______ (new resource)? Sometimes finding a specific resource can be tricky, especial given they're sometimes to be found in the murky sea depths. This needs some exploring (hence the Exploration :) ). What can help you, though, is the description shown after selecting the resource you need. That being said - it's possible, that some resources are harder to find than planned or not easily identifiable. That's something we're already looking into and it should be, at least partially, improved in one of the upcoming patches.
Where are the submarines? Submarines would be cool, but they are not currently planned. That's not saying we may decide to add some faster way of propelling through the waters. If any larger vessel type makes it into Ylands in the future, you will find it way up high, not way down below :).
How does the ship damaging work? Ships can be now damaged by either dealing direct damage to the ship, colliding with other objects, or sailing in severe weather. The amount of collision damage depends on how fast you're sailing and which part of the ship gets hit. Weather damage does not apply when a ship is anchored, in shallow waters, or stationary during a storm. Outside of construction mode, any entities built on the ship will redirect damage to the ship hull (with some exceptions).
Why does it snow/rain inside again? This has already been fixed on our internal version of the game and should be released in a patch sometime next week.
I was teleported to a completely new location when I died, why? This has already been fixed as well (at least we've been able to reproduce at least one way this could have happened). This is one of the reported issues related to respawning and those will be fixed in the next patch or the one coming after that.
Why am I forced to go explore underwater? (most recipes require underwater resources now) This is intentional. We want to keep enhancing the underwater world and force players to explore it and don't consider it a place where you go once in a long time. We're taking more steps towards making the undersea exploration much more rewarding. However, once again, this is something we'll be watching and analyzing in the upcoming weeks so it's possible we may decide to tweak it somehow.
We hope you're having fun underwater and will talk to you soon. Until then - stay healthy and classy!
Update 1.9 - OCEAN ODYSSEYS
Hey there, Ylanders!
Update 1.9 is finally here, featuring sharks and brand new underwater biotopes!
As its name suggests, Ocean Odysseys introduces a brand new underwater world to Ylands, featuring extra underwater terrain to explore, new underwater biotopes, and the return of sharks, along with other fish.
There’s also an improved multiplayer mode, new devices to aid navigation, damageable ships, and a loot container. We’re not exaggerating when we say that update 1.9 renews, expands, and improves upon the overall Ylands experience in a major way.
A quick overview of what's happening in 1.9:
Sharks. Better stay in your boat! Underwater biotopes full of life and surprises Ships can suffer damage and even sink Useful new ship devices Friends' locations are displayed on the map
Sharks YES! Sharks are back and they’re more dangerous than ever - though you still have a chance to escape them. There are multiple underwater predators, waiting to pounce on unprepared explorers.
Underwater biotopes Craft diving gear and explore underwater life. You can visit 9 new biotope types, gather new resources, discover new random encounters, and admire and catch fish from fish shoals.
Fish shoals There are 18 kinds of fish shoals for you to admire during the long deep dive. You can even catch fish to get food or rare resources.
Underwater environment lighting Small change for sure, but a welcome one. It makes sense that you want to see where you’re swimming, right?
Oxygen management Take a deep breath for your underwater adventure. New diving gear will come in handy at this point, as it lets you dive deeper and swim faster.
Underwater cave generation This is just the beginning of a largescale underwater adventure. While you may only find small caves at the moment, the foundation for cave generation is now in place and will be expanded upon considerably in the future.
Ship devices When you want to experience a proper ocean odyssey, you definitely need as much information about your surroundings as possible. So let's build new equipment for your ship that warns you before you run out of fuel, tells you how fast your ship is sailing, enables you to find deep waters with random encounters more easily, and lets you know the status of your ship’s health.
Damageable ships and boats Now there’s another reason for you to build cannons on your ships because it’s possible to attack players with your ship on certain ylands. But be careful what you wish for because what goes around, comes around – meaning those ships can fire back at you! Keep an eye on your ship’s health, and keep the Repair hammer and resources close because you’re going to need them. Not only in case of naval battles, but ships can take damage in a collision with obstacles and even in severe weather, better put down the anchor when the large waves comes.
PvP Let's play pirates! You’ll now find a new PvP setting in your server settings that lets you decide whether you want other players to be able to attack your properties from the sea or even engage in naval battles.
Playing with friends Friends and clan members are able to see each other on the map by default. But if you’re a fan of hide and seek, just change the settings! We also tweaked the friends list, so it's now clear who can join in the game and who you can invite. An improved spawn system will summon you much closer to your friend's avatar. Now you can jump straight into playing with your friends without having to find each other on the huge maps!
Loot container Dying in the game is unpleasant, that’s for sure. But it’s even worse if you die with a full inventory because collecting everything again is such a struggle. That’s why we’re adding a loot container in 1.9, which keeps everything from your inventory in one container.
There are of course many more changes, improvements, fixes, additions and tweaks. We honestly can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about this update. The best person to sum up the Ocean Odysseys is none other than the Project Lead, Aleš Ulm, himself:
“For a long time, the seas in Ylands have offered bare, empty depths with an uninteresting seabed, Update 1.9 changes that in a big way. Players will now be able to look for resources and enjoy gorgeous underwater life, both harmless and dangerous, while exploring new depths.”
Well, 1.9 is finally out, let us know what you think and most importantly...
