Hello everyone,
It has been a while but I bring you a new Update, which is mostly technical but also brings several graphical and gameplay improvements. For some time now I've been (really) slowly converting the game from its original engine (GameMaker Studio 1.4) to its newest iteration. That led me to rewrite almost every line of the game's code. The only downside of this conversion is that the game now only supports a 64-bit operating system. Which is not that unusual these days but still, the original version is a 32-bit application and will stay available as a "beta" branch in the game's properties. The original version has some bad performance issues I've never been able to solve properly. The engine upgrade by itself provides some improvement but this time I tried to optimize as much as I was able to. Most notably object and effect rendering, island loading/saving, and a better UI drawing system. So getting under the targeted 60 fps should be harder than with the original. I made a new savegame format which is now just one .sav file instead of several files in one folder, which is better for saving/loading and for Steam Cloud to manage. You can load your existing saves normally. However, if there is some edge-case scenario and the loading is not successful, the original save folder will stay intact and visible in your savegame list. The most obvious change is the UI graphics. I tried to make it more consistent with its color palette and overall style. Almost everything from HUD to dialogues has been adjusted, mostly just for looks but some, like the crafting screen merged with inventory, for a better user experience. A new sandbox mode can be selected when creating a new game. This mode is the original game without quests and content blocks tied to them. Enemy number is also based on the number of in-game days and not story progression. When creating the new sandbox game, there are new world generator settings available under the options button. Despite all the new code and graphics, there is no new content (like items, buildings, and quests) in the game (except the new sandbox mode). This update started more like a technical challenge for me, rather than content expansion, and I tried to improve things that were already there. I've never really kept track of every change I have made, but still, I've written this changelog for things that you can actually see or try in the game. GENERAL
Native system cursor independent of the game's framerate
All keyboard and gamepad bindings are reset to default because of changes in the input system
Added ability to turn off tutorial when any guide is displayed
Added new auto-tiling textures for floors and roofs
Added highlight around quest objects when a compass is activated
Adjusted requirements for some buildings and crafting recipes
GAMEPLAY
Raft speed is now increased when outside of island boundaries
Space between islands is slightly smaller
Compass now also shows your raft and your home island (if set)
Raft storage is now opened automatically when rafting instead of pressing a separate key
Added ability to equip and ignite torch on a raft
Fixed player movement speed when moving diagonally with keyboard
Added screen-shake and hurt overlay for hitting and getting hit by enemies
Added footsteps effect for all human characters and animals
Added shake effect for trees, rocks, bushes,... when they got hit by a player
Added first-aid baggage with bandages and medical kits at the start of a new game
Decreased waiting time when fishing
Ability to drop all selected items in inventory at once by the drop button
Ability to destroy water-source object with a pickaxe, when it is really in your way
Floor construction grid is now constrained to 32x32px grid instead of 16 (because of new textures)
SETTINGS
Added option for borderless fullscreen
Added option to change gamepad graphics
Added support for more resolutions (ultra-wide ones might see island loading on the edges)
Added option to disable auto-save after sleeping
Added more positions for the FPS monitor
USER INTERFACE
Crafting is now built into inventory and recipe results are shown above the action buttons
Map has now its tab button instead of settings
Settings moved under the options tab
The character screen is rearranged and a character's name is added
New icons for buildings on the construction screen
Achievements have now a new in-game screen instead of opening Steam overlay
New graphics for outside view pointers (nearest island and enemies)
Added exclamation mark icon for quest items in inventory and buildings on the construction screen
Locked buildings are now shown on the construction screen
Merged character creation screen with new game
Pause screen tabs are now available when any storage is opened
Colors for character visuals are now set by a palette button next to each line
Newly discovered recipes are highlighted until you look at them or use them
All settings are now on one single page (except for controls) instead of separate tabs
Added key and button icons on the control binding screen
If after all these fixes and rewrites you discover a bug, or the game crashes, please tell me in Steam discussions and I'll try to fix it. Have a lovely day. - Petr