Hello, everyone! ːsteamhappyː
We are back with another update on the situation of our game.
Progress on the console ports is steady, but we still have a loooong way to go. We’ll share more once we have something more substantial. Sadly, we can’t really show you any progress on tape as it is strictly under NDA.
However, we can share that on the next generation consoles, we can already run the game on the highest quality settings in 4k resolution maintaining a steady 60 FPS. The biggest problem is going to be the Nintendo Switch, which is currently lagging behind at 12 FPS.
Console play will also support crossplay between all the gaming platforms involved so you’ll be able to play with others no matter where they own and play the game. That is also why it’s taking us this long to introduce better security measures for multiplayer to stop people from ruining others’ games by joining and taking all their hideout equipment and stored items in public lobbies.
We plan on implementing a timer for guests that will make it impossible for them to mess around with the host's stuff until they’ve played with them for a while. Host will also be able to manage the players on the server and kick or ban them. We’d have to reimplement these after changing the multiplayer structure to allow for crossplay, so we’d rather just do it once.
We’d also like to stress out that optimizing the game for consoles will help the game run smoother on PCs as well. Many changes and improvements we are currently working on will lead to shorter loading times (especially on HDDs), less RAM requirements and better stability.
Apart from console ports, we’ve also been working hard on implementing new features, based on feedback and requests from our community. You can read about them in more detail in the dedicated patch notes - especially about big fixes and smaller improvements.
The biggest additions coming in this update are changes to calamities making them more intensive, but shorter, the option to call for early elections (if the player has enough votes), and optional hardcore modes for greater challenge. Yes, hardcore modes plural - basic hardcore mode eligible for multiplayer play, and hardcore+ mode restricting the game to singleplayer and featuring permadeath. You’ll find more detailed information about the hardcore mode restrictions in the patch notes.
We are also getting a lot of questions about language availability and when the game is going to be translated into more languages. Thing is, our original system of community translations was very improvised and we definitely cannot use it on a larger scale. Currently, implementation of translations requires our input and a new build for any changes to take effect - managing that with multiple languages is going to get complicated.
Right now, we are researching the possibility to allow for translations to be added as Steam Workshop mods. And who knows, maybe we won’t stop with just translations ;)
That is going to be all for May. See you at the end of June!
- Perun Creative