It's patch time! (Full patch notes below).
As with every new patch, we highly recommend doing a "save as" to create a new save file.
The new update is now live! Complete with new tech, overhauled building system, movable buildings, upgradable modules and more!
This update improves the building system with a building grid, and makes building placement much clearer. We've also added the ability to move buildings, allowing you to swap to new islands much easier. Currently moving a building is instant, in the future there may be a "re-construction" time component added, but we'll see how it feels first.
This update also extends tech, allows you to upgrade bunker modules, craft bunker modules, adds new loot, and enables the CUBERT device in your bunker.
Modules:
Bunkers can now be upgraded to have up to 4 module slots, and modules stack! This allows you to start focusing islands on a particular task (e.g. a farming island, a production island etc).
As part of this we've also added some new module types that you can find, and a new very late-game building that allows you to make your own modules.
There's even a couple of new "EX" modules. These are Float-Tech's experimental modules that, they are unique (so you'll only ever find one), can only be found as bunker loot, and, they can alter game mechanics. We've got more plans for additional "EX" modules in the future, and we're probably going to get a little weird with them!
New Island & Island Loot:
A new bunker, 165, is the latest in the mass produced bunker series that has been discovered. This bunker is 3 levels and contains 3 storage lockers, so stock up on maintenance tokens and get that loot!
The highest island rating is also now 5A. If you're lucky enough to find one you'll be blessed with good buoyancy ratings.
Regarding loot, we've updated loot tables so that loot is more rewarding, you'll even find backpacks and perhaps a super rare "EX" module.
CUBERT:
Marcus was exploring the bunker (even though everyone else insisted he remain at his fishing post)... needless to say he tripped on book and hit his head on the CUBERT device. It must have knocked something back into place as the CUBERT device is now operational!
This device allows you to create science cubes from resources. Science cubes can boost research and study speed, but are also an ingredient for some modules - and will have more uses with future content.
Story & Balance:
We're always keeping an eye on player frustrations and confusions, and finding ways to improve things. There are a couple of things we could have done better with story progression, and we're not always going to get things right the first time, we are only puny humans after all.
One thing that kept coming up, is some players getting stuck on hardwood/strongwood. We did add some UI notes about this, but there's so much going on in the UI it is pretty easy to overlook messages. So we've made some improvements on where important notes shown, and also locked out part of the bunker until you need to access it throughout the story.
Having a fully story like we do is pretty unique in the genre, and players have really enjoyed it, but it has presented various challenges like these. We are constantly improving this, and we also have the non-story mode planned.
Feedback:
We'd love to get your feedback no the building system once you have spent some time with it. Let us know of any bugs you encounter as well :)
New Island Bunker: Bunker 165
New Tech: Glass Blower, Module Assembler.
New Resources: Insulated Wire, Shielded Wire, Magnetic Alloy Ingot, Electromagnetic Core, Blank Module, Vacuum Tube
New Modules: Cultivation Enhancer Vol.1/Vol.2, Irrigation Optimizer Vol.1, Furnace Calibrator Vol.1, Preservation Matrix Vol.X, Incineration Matrix Vol.X are now available.
New Key Features: Building Grid, Move Buildings, Upgrade Module Slots, CUBERT Device.
We are already working on the next update (0.1.5) and overhauling the Island Hauling system, new raft engines, looking at combat improvements, and more. In addition to this we are laying the groundwork for the new non-story mode.
There will be more automation tweaks, QoL and bug fixes as well (keep that feedback coming please).
Important: We have updated the underlying save file storage system to be more robust against crashes or device power losses which occur during saving. You shouldn’t notice any differences, but if you encounter any issues please let us know.
Important: Due to the new grid snapping you may notice some slight position adjustments with existing buildings and bridges. This is unlikely to cause issues, however you can dismantle and rebuild anything that looks out of place.
Important: With the new building grid all buildings have been assigned a footprint size that they take up, your existing buildings will remain where you have placed them on islands and on rafts, however you may notice that you can fit less buildings in some places, or more buildings in some places with their new footprint.
Important: We have increased the yield of various resource nodes, this will usually only effect new resource nodes that spawn/regenerate.
Important: We’ve updated the marking system, if you had wildlife marked for combat when you saved they will be unmarked when you load due to underlying changes. Nodes marked for harvest/do not harvest should remain intact.
Important: The main bunker layout has changed to improve story flow and reduce some hurdles players encountered. The debris pile on level 2 has been reduced to tier 1, the tier 2 debris pile has been moved to a new locked storage room on Level 5. The red nautilus terminal has moved from level 5 to level 4. Level 5 is now blocked until you reach the Torrid zone (to avoid players expecting to solve this earlier).
New Grid Building: The building system has been overhauled with a new visual grid building system, making it more obvious of the space required for buildings. Building placement will also now snap to this grid, but the grid is reasonably high resolution so you will still be able to move them where you need. Existing buildings will have their footprint on the grid system, but they wont be snapped to the grid until you rebuild or move them (we decided against that to avoid conflicts that might happen with existing buildings near edges).
New Move Building Feature: You can now move buildings, for free. We may add some restrictions to this in the future, be sure to let us know your feedback on this feature.
New CUBERT: The CUBERT device in the bunker has been updated and is now functional, allowing you to convert resources into science cubes. Science cubes are used to boost stations like Research and Study, but are also an ingredient for some recipes such as modules.
New Module Slots: Bunkers can now be upgraded if they have a module machine. The cost increases per slot and it is relatively expensive to install new module slots, but allows you to have up to 4 modules in a bunker. Initially we are going to allow modules to stack, but this may change in the future.
New Modules: Cultivation Enhancer Vol.1/Vol.2, Irrigation Optimizer Vol.1, Furnace Calibrator Vol.1, Preservation Matrix Vol.X, Incineration Matrix Vol.X are now available. Standard modules can be found in bunkers and crafted in the new Module Assembler. Experimental modules (Vol.X) are unique modules that can only be found in bunkers.
New Tech: Module Assembler, this high end (late game) building allows you to craft your own modules.
New Tech: Glass Blower, this mid-game building allows you to create components from glass, required for multiple research tables or high end equipment,
New Resources: Insulated Wire (conduit mill), Shielded Wire (conduit mill), Magnetic Alloy Ingot (furnace), Electromagnetic Core (fabricator), Blank Module (fabricator), Vacuum Tube (glass blower)
New Recipe: Leather (second recipe to make it from vinegar and salt).
New Bunker: Bunker 165, a previously undiscovered model of Float-Tech’s mass produced 160 islands has been spotted floating around! This variant was designed with additional storage lockers, and sometimes had a double module slot pre-installed. You might be lucky enough to find it in one of the mid-late game regions, but it will take some additional hauling power to bring it home.
New Automation: “Kick (Marked)” automation has been added to characters automation setting, along with a new “Kick” marking tool to the quick mark actions bar. Allowing you to mark palm trees, gulls
New Hotkey: Key binding options for the new “Kick” marking took. By default this is bound to “2”, the defaults for the other marking hotkeys have been adjusted (you may need to reset hotkeys in the options for this to take effect).
New Hotkeys: Key binding options to “Toggle Translations” and “Toggle Translation Keys” while in a game have been added. This is primarily for community translators to debug their translations. Each time it is toggled on the translation file is reloaded, allowing you to see changes. Note that not all text elements are setup to change on the fly, many are but may require you to re-open the dialog. By default these are not bound.
New Hotkeys: Raft movement hotkeys have been added to the game options. Note that due to this change you can no longer move the raft with a controller if you change from the default arrow keys, however we have plans to improve this in an upcoming update for improved Steam Deck controls.
Colonists will now manage needs BEFORE they become red.
Crafting Automation pane is now always shown and the automation toggle starts on for new buildings.
Character Occupation is now shown on the Character Sheet
Added a minimum buoyancy for islands (1.0) regardless of how many buildings are on it to address some issues with the float recharge timing. When an island reaches this minimum you’ll still want to improve buoyancy or the colonists will be spending all of their time pumping.
Selected nodes (resources, pickups, creatures) will now show mark action buttons in the selection area.
Added a new character list toggle button to the top left of the UI, allowing you to toggle between display modes. The list has also been updated to show in two columns when you have many colonists to prevent UI overlap. Visual changes to the raft list were also made.
Added a note on buildings that require you to advance the story to access areas with the resources.
Loot tables have been updated, giving you more rewards for exploring bunkers and accessing the storage lockers. In addition to clothing and hat parcels, you can now find accessories parcels and module parcels. Some belt items were previously available in clothing parcels but have been moved to the new accessories parcels (belts, backpacks, linings) and come in multiple tiers of rarity, and the new module parcels also have multiple tiers of rarity (this is the only way to find the new unique exclusive island modules). Science cubes can also now be found as loot in bunkers.
The final region may now procedurally spawn bunkers up to rating 5A (previously 4B was the highest procedural bunker rating).
All expedition and scouting travel times reduced by 15%.
Jellyfish Farm now also requires 100 industrial research (this was originally intended). If you have previously researched it you may need to now complete the extra research part.
Various visual and layout adjustments to the research tree.
New Artwork and animations for the Loom. Please note the loom is larger now, you will likely need to move your existing loom with the new move feature.
New Artwork for the Butchers Block when upgraded.
Fuse Recipe (Fabricator) now requires copper wire instead of magnetite.
Yarn Recipe (Spool) cost from 3 to 2 wool, and from 6 to 5 plant fibre.
Solar Stills salt generation increased from 0.1 to 0.3 per water generated.
Some addition iron deposits will spawn in the arctic and torrid region to introduce a little more iron slightly early (though the intent is for these regions to be primarily copper).
Weeds (wild) now give +1 Plant Fiber
Palm Trees (wild) now give +2 Palm Fronds and +2 Beachwood
Driftweed (wild) now gives +1 Plant Fiber
Kelp spire (wild) now gives +1 Plant Fiber
Ironwood Trees (wild) now give +2 Plant Fiber
Everwood Trees (wild) now give +2 Plant Fiber
Beach Reeds (wild) now give +2 Plant Fibre when dug up
Berry Bush (wild) now give +2 Plant Fibre when dug up
Snowfruit Bush (wild) now give +2 Plant Fibre when dug up
Seagull Nest now gives +1 Beachwood
Small Rock Pile now gives +1 Stone
Small Copper Deposit now gives +2 Copper Ore
Small Iron Deposit now gives +2 Iron Ore
Coal Deposit now gives +2 Coal
Wooly Crab now gives +2 Wool
Arctic Char fish now gives +2 fish oil when pulped
Added a new Modules category to the UI top bar, modules will now show in here.
Adjusted colliders on raft docks to help prevent rafts getting stuck with automatic movement.
Salt has been moved from the Raw Food to Raw Resource category.
You can now right click through characters to interact with objects behind them, making it easier for other characters to interact with objects behind a different character for example.
You can now dig up small water pools on islands to remove them, this requires a Tier 2 shovel.
The Send Expedition window now shows “Raft Hauling Power” with the stats on the right. This is the hauling power you actually have based on the crew.
Modules will now be shown in the “Other” category when choosing cargo, instead of “Equipment”.
Updated the Choose Cargo screen fill buttons. Moved the button near the confirm button and added two separate fill buttons allowing you to fill to green weight or fill to orange weight.
Updated the text on the provisions screen to be clearer about paying for the journey, and an extra warning now shows when taking excess items.
Added a warning note to game options when using basic lighting mode.
The handbook may start listing additional events (that have occurred) under the Colony tab, this is experimental.
The fish codex now shows the ocean biome that each fish is found in.
Improved the methods use to save files and make the system more robust against crashes and power losses. Save files will take additional disk space but it is worth it for safety. Also added more conditions to check if saving failed, and if so a message is shown to the player.
Updated the Jerky Rack description now that it no longer makes leather since the previous patch.
Side Story Island “Seed Ark” (Bunker 185) is now a Grass Island with one of the new grass biome island modules. This will not effect existing games where the island has already spawned.
The minimap no longer shows buildings on rafts, and instead shows a single marker for a raft. This updates more frequently since rafts move.
Increased the tolerance when placing bridges, so that they are easier to place on some angles.
Maximum bridge length has been increased by 25%.
Improved various UI areas to better fit long translated text.
Fixed missing description on Field Pharmacy.
Fixed a bug where packed islands weren’t showing the Float Regulator and Float counters.
Fixed click collider on the composter.
Fixed a bug where the circle size of the raft was incorrectly calculated for some platform configurations and could cause visual and collision issues.
Fixed Field Pharmacy missing manage settings button.
Fixed a bug in the Raft Building where parts on the list could have the text strike through after un-deleted.
Fixed out of sync sound at the Stone Splitter.
Fixed a bug causing the skin/meat/oil amounts in the fish codex not to be accurate for fish that gave higher amounts of those items.
Fixed temperature in module descriptions not being converted to Fahrenheit when using those units.
Fixed a display issue in the crafting list when an item has a long name.
Fixed a bug where food spoil time bonuses were not being applied to crafted food.
Fixed a display issue with the raft circle overlapping colonist eyes.
Fixed a bug where the raft would continue to move from manual movement if you held down the key and deselected the raft.
Fixed a bug that allowed you to unequip tools the colonist was working, and they would keep working.
Fixed a bug that allowed you to place multiple unconstructed hatches on an island (bypassing the 1 per island limit).
Fixed a display issue with waves sometimes showing a line where ocean chunks meet.
Fixed a bug where colonies that only had auto saves would not to show in the load game list.
Fixed a bug where a character could trigger an automated eat or heal task even if they were currently doing it, or had it queued, from a manual command.
Fixed a bug that could occur with crabs that were heading to an island if you packed the island.
Fixed a bug where an island could become stuck partially in the sinking state and non interactable.
Fixed a bug where the character pathing area would not always update correctly after loading a game (notably with bridges).
Looking forward to your feedback :)
See the translation changelog for text changes in this version.
HUGE thanks to everyone putting up the translation mods, you are all amazing. There are now translation mods for Simplified Chinese, Spanish, German, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian.
All you need to do is subscribe to the language mod in the workshop, and enable it in-game.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/3052510/workshop/
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A huge thanks to all of the players helping each other out on the forums and in discord. It's really cool seeing tips being shared.
Keep your feedback coming as well, we read it all!
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Join our discord to discuss the game and share your ideas!
Join discord here