We’ve listened to your feedback and reworked the research tree, streamlining and cleaning it up. You can find all the details under Balancing below.
We’ve improved on many other things mentioned on Discord and Steam, such as the order of food-related items and recipes being inconsistent.
Improvements
Order of food-related items is now consistent throughout the game. Order of Berry, beets, corn etc. and all their related products is the same everywhere (UI, Kitchen, Farm, etc.)
Food Stand workers will no longer stand around outside while waiting
Water puddles now also get marked in grey when placing or selecting a Clay Gathering Camp
Made research lines a bit thicker and more visible
Bugfixes
Fixed some research items showing pollution value, even though they didn’t cause any pollution
Fixed bug where removing employees from a building with an ongoing mission (e.g. Trebuchet) could lead to unexpected side effects, such as Onbu never getting hungry again
Fixed research recommendation order (Brick Furnace got recommended too early)
Implemented a first batch of improvements that should hopefully prevent the map bug from happening (Onbu taking unusual paths through the landscape). Please send us a bug report if it still happens!
If the game’s config file contains a corrupted screen resolution setting of 0x0, it will now default to 640x480 to prevent the “black screen” bug from happening
Fixed issue where changing texture quality and then starting a new game could get you stuck in the loading screen
Balancing
Increased scavenging radius and view radius
Improved in-range detection for scavenging, so that locations that significantly touch the circle are now already considered in range
The research tree has been reworked:
Made the structure a bit more parallel overall. Many research items that were locked behind other, thematically unrelated ones are now accessible on a more direct path
Building upgrades are now unlocked from the start, but part of the former resource cost is now needed to build them. This makes the tree a lot leaner, especially in the first half
All quality housings (Hut etc.) are now on the same height, as are all mass housings (Flophouse etc.)
Getting the Scavenger Hut is now a bit easier
Onbu Discipliner is available much earlier now, making it more feasible and tempting
Pest Control and Decontaminator no longer require Onbu Notes
Spread the different tiers of progress (plank/slab, brick, iron/glass) out a bit more, to give a better sense of orientation
Removed some overly restrictive research costs, such as Evaporator costing Biogas
Made some early-game research a bit cheaper, slightly reduced overall slab cost and moderately increased overall plank cost, especially in the second half of the tree. The goal is to make the early-game a slight bit quicker, while giving more of an incentive to keep a strong wood economy running into the late-game
Rebalanced decorations across all tiers. Every piece of decoration should now have its place in the game’s progression
Increased chance of finding iron ore in scavenging events
Mines, Fort Ruins and Shipwrecks can now also contain iron ore
Reduced how fast the maximum happiness penalty from Starvation/Homelessness/Poisoning increases by 33% on Relaxed and Tutorial
Increased fuel usage of Blacksmith to be in line with other fuel-consuming buildings
Increased number of guaranteed giant boulders on map (4-6 → guaranteed 6)
Reduced number of giant trunks (6 → 4)
Brought production speed of Gourmet Kitchen in line with Kitchen, increased worker count (2 → 3)
Cult mechanic has been nerfed:
Higher cult levels now demand more frequent sacrifices
Onbu hunger restoration from feeding it a villager has been reduced (15% → 10%)