Greetings, Viceroys!

Happy Update day! Starting today, you will be able to gather all the small food nodes with a new set of essential Small Camps. 

But that’s not all! Here’s what’s new:

• New buildings: Small Camps
• Camps rebalance
• Glade resources rebalance
• Rewards rebalance
• Woodcutters’ Camp modes list (+new mode)
• New hotkeys
• Auto-pause
• And more!

We hope you are enjoying the game and all its features. If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a review on Steam to let us know what you think. Thank you for your support!

Now, keep reading for all the details on the latest update.

DEVELOPER NOTES

Hello there, Viceroys! It’s Thursday again, so we bring you another juicy update. This time we focused mostly on balance – in the form of camps, rewards, biomes, and resources. There’s also a fair bit of new UI and UX improvements, so let’s get right into it.

First off – the camp changes. Many of you have already seen a sneak peek of this on the Experimental Branch. And while the first version of this change was not very well received, the second iteration turned out very promising. That’s why we decided to improve it a bit, adjust the balance accordingly, and release it to the main version of the game. To put it simply, from now on you will have access to additional essential camps at the start of the game – the Small Trappers’ Camp, the Small Foragers’ Camp, and the Small Herbalists’ Camp. These are called Small Camps because they work similarly to normal camps but are slower and can only collect small resource nodes. To gather big or gigantic nodes, you’ll need a regular camp (which can be acquired as before – from Reputation rewards, bought from a trader, or found in glades).

Small Camps

With this change, we also adjusted the balance around camps. As players can now collect all small nodes on the map from the start, the glade layout had to change. That’s why we increased the number of large nodes in Dangerous and Forbidden Glades but reduced the number of small nodes at the same time. Our goal here was to broaden the options a player has in a settlement, but also incentivize choosing camp blueprints for a more specialized playstyle. Additionally, you might be pleased to hear that a lot of the rougher edges of the experimental branch have been smoothed out for his release. For example, getting a camp blueprint now automatically upgrades existing small camps on the map and removes the old blueprint from the construction menu.

Thank you all again for testing the experimental changes and providing your feedback. There were a lot of cool ideas floating around, and while not everything can make it into the game (due to scope constraints or different design decisions), they all sparked our imagination and provided inspiration for future improvements.

Meanwhile, we’re also working on new Camp models. We aim to make them more unique and easily distinguishable and to add some personality to them. You can expect them – along with other features – in Camps Update (Part 2).

Back to today’s update, the next big item on the list is balance. We took a thorough look at node layout on Dangerous and Forbidden Glades, resource distribution in different biomes, and the reward structure as a whole. The highlights here are:

• There are now more large nodes in Dangerous and Forbidden Galdes, but less small deposits
• Large nodes now have 70 charges instead of 60.
• A lot of perks have been reshuffled in terms of rarity and price.
• A lot of “+1 to X production” perks have been buffed to now give a +2 bonus.
• The Cursed Royal Woodlands now has a completely different resource makeup. 
• And much, much more (detail in the changelog below).

These changes were mainly done to adjust the existing balance to the new camp system, but we also wanted to refresh some problematic areas of the game (like rewards and biomes). For example, the Cursed Royal Woodlands were almost a 1 to 1 copy of the Royal Woodlands resource-wise, and some Cornerstones were just too underwhelming when compared to others (like +1 to Ale, when there’s already 10 Ale being produced every cycle).

Last but not least – UI improvements and bugfixes. As always, we took as much of your feedback as we could fit into our schedule and started fixing. We think you’ll be happy to hear that we revisited the Woodcutters’ Camp options panel, added new hotkeys, added an auto pause option, fixed decoration orders, and much, much more.

Woodcutters’ Camp modes (hold Shift when clicking to propagate to all)

Auto Pause

We hope you’ll enjoy the new changes! And if you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:

• Steam Discussions, Discord, Reddit – discuss the game with the community and share your impressions
• Feature Request Tool – suggest specific new features

Have fun and may the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

P.S. Thank you for participating in the latest Community Brainstorm! It will take a while before we start working on our picks, but we already have too many great ideas to choose from.

CHANGELOG

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by community.

New content and features

• ⚡ Revamped the camp system – introduced essential small food camps.
  • There are now 3 new camps in the game: the Small Trappers’ Camp, Small Foragers’ Camp, and Small Herbalists’ Camp. 
  • The new camps are essential buildings – meaning they are always available and don’t need to be chosen as blueprints. 
  • Small camps can only gather small resource nodes. They’re also slower than normal camps.
  • To gather large and gigantic nodes, players need normal camps. These can be chosen as blueprint rewards for Reputation, bought from traders, or found in glades. Normal camps are also faster.
  • Choosing or buying a normal camp’s blueprint will upgrade its already built small counterpart automatically (and replace the small camp in the construction menu).
  • Changed the resource layout in camps to avoid overlapping.
    • Trappers’ Camp – meat, eggs, insects
    • Foragers’ Camp – vegetables, grain, roots
    • Herbalists’ Camp – herbs, berries, mushrooms
  • Players still have access to the normal essential camps specialized in building materials: the Stonecutters’ Camp, Woodcutters’ Camp, and Harvesters’ Camp. 
  • The Scavengers’ Camp was removed from the game.
  • This change was implemented mainly for two reasons: to allow players to go wider with their production chains and to make small glades a bit more rewarding. At the same time, a very substantial balance overhaul was introduced to glades and resource nodes (more on that in the Balance section below).

Balance

• ⚡ Fully depleted ore will now disappear from the map.
• ⚡ Updated the recipes in the Homestead. They were out-of-date since the last balance changes to farms. The Homestead now produces:
  • Grain (3 stars) – 9 Grain, 30 seconds planting and harvesting
  • Plant Fiber (3 stars) – 9 Plant Fiber, 30 seconds planting and harvesting
  • Vegetables (2 stars) – 6 Vegetables, 30 seconds planting and harvesting
  • Mushrooms (2 stars) – 6 Mushrooms, 30 seconds planting and harvesting
• ⚡ Forbidding services in the Consumption Control panel will no longer apply a Resolve penalty if there is no corresponding service building in the settlement.
• ⚡ The Archaeologist’s Office is now moveable.
• ⚡ Decreased the rewards for solving the Living Matter glade event.
• ⚡ Increased the rewards for the Destroyed Cage of the Warbeast glade event. 
• ⚡ The Monastery of the Holy Flame World Map modifier will no longer spawn near Cursed Royal Woodlands.
• Rebalanced the rewards in multiple orders:
  • Zealous Scouts – removed the Bigger Barrels perk from rewards, added Coal.
  • Impetuous Explorer – removed the Reinforced Tools perk from rewards, added the Pickle Jars perk (increased Pickled Goods production).
  • Distant Journey – removed the Thrill of Exploration perk from rewards, added Copper Bars.
  • Meat Diet – removed Sahilda’s Secret Cookbook from rewards, added the Egg Containers perk (increased Egg production).
  • Seller – removed the Reinforced Needles perk from rewards, added the Advanced Leatherworking perk (increased Leather production).
  • Sacrificing – removed the Advanced Fuel perk from rewards, added the Bleeding Trees perk (increased Resin production).
  • Work Break – removed Planks from rewards, added the Specialized Boots perk.
  • Herbalist’s Trial – Removed the Clay Pit blueprint from rewards, added Pickled Goods.
  • Scavenger’s Trial – removed the Bigger Pans perk and the Greenhouse blueprint from rewards, added the Egg Containers perk and Skewers.
  • Trapper’s Trial – removed the Plantation blueprint from rewards, added Biscuits.
  • Mushrooming – removed the Kiln blueprint from rewards, added Jerky.
  • Stonecutter’s Trial – Removed Wildfire Essence and the Forester’s Hut blueprint from rewards, added the Plantation blueprint and Pies.
  • Forager’s Trial – removed the Herb Garden blueprint from rewards, added Jerky.
  • Lumber Mill Efficiency Test – removed the Reinforced Tool perk from rewards, added the Light Timber perk.
  • The Forum – removed the Big Phials perk from rewards, added Pigment.
  • Trailblazing – removed the Ancient Artifact perk from rewards, added the Pickle Jars perk. 
  • Lost Supplies – removed the Reinforced Saw Blades perk from rewards, added Planks.
  • Religion – removed the Ancient Artifact perk from rewards, added Coal.
  • Religious Rites – removed the Bigger Ovens perk from rewards, added Pies.
  • Devilish Curiosity – removed the Thrill of Exploration perk from rewards, added Pickled Goods. 
  • Forest Fascination – removed the Crystal Growth perk from rewards, added the Advanced Smelting perk.
  • Wealthy Trader – removed the Vegetable Delivery Line and Advanced Filters perks from rewards, added the Biscuit Delivery Line and Advanced Leatherworking perks instead.
  • Into the Ruins – removed the Giant Vegetables perk from rewards, added the Egg Containers perk instead.
  • Thirsty Trader – removed the Protected Trade perk from rewards, added the Advanced Leatherworking perk. 
  • Liquid Luck – removed the Salted Jerky perk from rewards, added Wine.
  • The Cult of Fire – removed the Survivor Bonding perk from rewards, added the Specialized Mining perk instead.
  • Ultimate Challenge – removed the Drizzle Totem and Clearance Totem perks from rewards, added the Rain-Powered Pottery Wheel and Scout’s Pack perks.
  • Greedy Merchant – removed the Respected Business Partner perk from rewards, added the Pickled Goods Delivery Line perk instead.
  • Focus on Farming – removed the City Renown perk from rewards, added the Farmer’s Pack perk instead. 
  • Great Expansion – removed Simple Tools from rewards, added the Smithy blueprint. 
  • Advanced Cuisine – removed Simple Tools from rewards, added the Rain Mill blueprint.
  • Time of Courage – removed Barrels from rewards, added the Monastery Blueprint instead.
  • Large Parcel – removed the Bath House blueprint from rewards, added Simple Tools. 
  • Storekeeper – removed the City Renown and Leather Delivery Line perks from rewards, added Incense and Wine. 
  • Beaver Majority – removed the Bigger Ovens and Working Hard and Smart perks from rewards, added the Pickle Jars perk and Pickled Goods instead.
  • Knowledge – removed the Ancient Artifact perk from rewards, added Incense.
  • Expensive Delivery – removed the Thrill of Exploration perk from rewards, added the Rich in Fiber perk. 
  • Beer Snacks – removed the Bigger Barrels perk from rewards, added the Advanced Coopering perk instead. 
  • Food Provision – removed Incense from rewards, added Oil.
  • Advanced Logistics – removed the Crystal Growth perk from rewards, added the Advanced Smithing perk.
  • Beaver Resolve – removed Berries from rewards, added Beavers.
  • Harpy Resolve – removed Plant Fiber and Simple Tools from rewards, added Incense and Berries.
  • Human Resolve – removed Flour from rewards, added the Egg Containers perk.
  • Brotherhood – removed Incense from rewards, added the Working Hard and Smart perk.
  • Bathing – removed the Bigger Pans perk from rewards, added Biscuits.
  • Arena – removed the Advanced Training and Woodworking Tools perks from rewards, added Training Gear and Jerky.
  • Serving Ale – removed Pottery from rewards, added the Bigger Barrels perk.
  • Profitable Caution – removed the Lost in the Wilds perk from rewards, added the Giant Vegetables perk.
  • Allies – removed the Specialized Mining perk from rewards, added the Fossil Leaching perk. 
  • Master of Exploration – removed the Pottery Delivery Line perk from rewards, added the Crystal Growth perk.
  • Rainproof Coats – removed the Light Timber perk, added the Ancient Sewing Technique perk.
• Changed some order objectives.
  • Herbalist – removed the objective to deliver Berries, increased the number of required Mushrooms
  • Forager – removed the objective to deliver Insects, increased the number of required Vegetables
  • Hunter – removed the objective to deliver Eggs, increased the number of required Meat
  • All orders requiring the construction of a camp or resource gathering in a camp can now be completed with either a small or a regular camp. 
• Rebalanced multiple perks and Cornerstones. While the exact changes are too numerous and detailed to list, here are the highlights:
  • Perks increasing production of goods that yield multiple items per recipe (like Jerky, Coats, Flour, etc.) have been buffed from giving a flat +1 bonus to +2.
  • Rebalanced prices and rarities on a lot of perks in the game. There were multiple instances of weak Cornerstones labeled as Epic, of really powerful perks being earned too easily. We cleaned this up and reshuffled a lot of rewards in different areas of the game.
• Increased the number of charges in large nodes from 60 to 70.
• Changed how perks increasing node charges work.
  • Previously, perks like this would increase the number of charges evenly across the board.
  • From now on, node charges are increased separately for small and large nodes.
  • For example, the perk Rich Glades adds 5 charges to small nodes and 20 charges to large nodes.
• Rebalanced the node layout of almost all glades in the game. 
  • Reduced the number of small nodes in Dangerous and Forbidden Glades.
  • Increased the number of large nodes in Dangerous and Forbidden Glades.
  • Added a few more nodes to some underwhelming small glades.
  • Reduced the number of resource nodes in glades with ruined settlements (as these glades are already very rewarding).
• Rebalanced the resources available on glades in almost all biomes in the game.
  • Royal Woodlands – berries, mushrooms, roots, vegetables, meat, eggs, plant fiber, clay, sea marrow
  • Scarlet Orchard – herbs, berries, grain, roots, eggs, reeds, stone, copper ore, sea marrow
  • Coral Forest – herbs, vegetables, meat, insects, reeds, stone, coal
  • Marshlands – mushrooms, grain, meat, eggs, stone, coal, copper ore
  • Cursed Royal Woodlands – herbs, mushrooms, grain, vegetables, insects, plant fiber, clay, sea marrow, copper ore
  • This change was introduced to make biomes more diverse and to adjust their balance due to changes in the camp system. The biggest change here is the Cursed Royal Woodlands – previously, this biome was a copy of the Royal Woodlands node-wise. Now, it has a unique mix of available resources.
• Trees in the Cursed Royal Woodlands now give insects instead of resin.
• Slightly decreased the number of ruins in Forbidden Glades with ruined settlements in them.
• Adjusted the first two tutorial maps to reflect the changes introduced to the camp system. Glade resources were reshuffled, and players now get small camps in the tutorial.
• Removed the Rain Collector Filter perk from the game (it allowed players to collect Crystalized Dew in the Rain Collector).
  • Due to this change, this perk is no longer given as a level-up reward for reaching level 15, and was replaced by Burnt to a Crisp (coal for burning Blightrot Cysts).

UX/UI improvements

• ⚡ Changed the options panel in the Woodcutters’ Camp.
  • Removed the dropdown menu.
  • Modes are now listed right away, with a checkbox next to them. 
  • Only one mode can be selected at a time. 
  • To propagate a mode to all Woodcutters’ Camps in the settlement, hold Shift when clicking the checkbox.
  • Added a new option: Only Marked Trees & Avoid Glades.
• ⚡ Added a new tab to the options menu – gameplay. Moved all gameplay settings to the gameplay tab.
• ⚡ Added an auto pause section to the options menu (in the gameplay tab). You can now customize when the game pauses automatically during gameplay:
  • Start of Drizzle
  • Start of Clearance
  • Start of Storm
  • Discovering a Normal Glade
  • Discovering a Dangerous Glade
  • Discovering a Forbidden Glade
  • Trader Arrival
• ⚡ Added an option to the settings menu to disable recipe reordering based on priority. 
• ⚡ Added an option to the settings menu to switch to clockwise building rotation. 
• ⚡ Added information about specific effects blocking sacrifice to the sacrifice panel in the Ancient Hearth.
• ⚡ Tutorial games are no longer counted towards player statistics in the Smoldering City (so skipping no longer counts as a loss). 
• ⚡ Added a tooltip to the “sell” button when a trade route can’t be started. The tooltip will state the exact reason (limit reached, not enough provisions, etc.).
• ⚡ Opening the recipe panel will now automatically set the focus on the search bar.
• ⚡ Added an option to assign “none” as a mouse keybind for selecting, canceling, panning, and rotating.
• ⚡ Effects blocking consumption control now no longer disable the consumption control panel. You can still open it and look at the needs of your villagers.
  • There is now also additional information in the panel about which effect blocks consumption control.
• ⚡ Changed the wording in the descriptions of the Paradise and Feeding the People deeds to more clearly state that all three species must be present in the settlement to complete the objective.
• ⚡ Renamed the “settings” button in the main menu to “options” (for the sake of consistency).
• ⚡ Added an option to automatically assign workers of one species to all empty slots in a building.
  • Holding Shift while assigning a worker to a slot will fill all empty slots with available villagers of the selected species.
  • Holding Shift while unassigning villagers will remove all workers from a building.
• ⚡ Updated the in-game error message when a save was corrupted. It now links to the official support site with contact info and a short guide on how to solve issues with saves.
• ⚡ Improved the wording in the Regular Baths perk description. 
• ⚡ Added new hotkeys to the game.
  • Mark Trees – F
  • Clear Tree markings – G
  • Building Destruction Mode – V
• Changed some of the existing default hotkeys to make room for new ones.
  • Order Panel – T
  • Trade Routes – Y
  • Recipe Panel – U
  • Screenshot Mode – O
• Cleaned up some perks and Cornerstones on the HUD. 
  • Some perks will no longer “spawn” minor versions of themselves to keep track of their progress, but instead indicate the effect gained directly on their tooltip (in the footer).
  • Some negative effects and perks giving more universal rewards (like the Wealth effect or +X to production) will still spawn additional icons on the HUD.

Bug fixes

• ⚡Fixed a bug with the Giant Stormbird penalty effect being active in seasons other than the Storm.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with decoration orders and ghost requests not counting decoration scores correctly.
• ⚡Fixed an issue with villagers making decisions even when the game was paused (resulting in them sometimes reserving items that were just bought from a trader, etc.). 
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with traders sometimes not having Amber in stock.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the ruined Carpenter building costing more to rebuild than to construct from scratch.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Barrel Schematics perk adding the Barrel recipe to a building which already had it (the Toolshop). This perk now adds the recipe to the Smithy instead.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Recipe Panel search bar not blocking inputs for camera movement.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with converted glade events showing incorrect resource amounts in tooltips when removing them with the building destruction tool. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with pause not being locked when writing reports in the in-game reporting tool.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with minecarts refusing to deliver resources when the Mine’s internal storage was full.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with text boxes being positioned incorrectly when scaling the UI during the tutorial.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with tooltips being positioned off-screen after an external resolution change.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with some Archaeological Discoveries not spawning.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the pathing tool breaking when trying to construct a road over a blocking object.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Ancient Strength perk only working on some professions.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with effects changing farming speed not influencing ongoing production.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with Citadel Resource icons staying on the UI after buying an upgrade.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with ruins destroyed by lighting being counted as solved events for perks, orders, and deeds.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed players to favor species with no members.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the ruined Ranch giving Parts when salvaged.
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect label on the Farm Range upgrade in the Citadel.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the label and storage icons overlapping in some tooltips.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with internal building storage being marked as empty, even if there are still goods inside.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the World Map fog being too thin in some places.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed players to travel through fogged fields on the World map.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with World Map tooltips being shown while the game is out of focus. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the “no builders” icon being displayed above fully constructed buildings.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with a mesh incorrectly placed inside the terrain in the construction site for the Signpost decoration.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Cursed Battlefield biome effect having an incorrect border color. 
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Reinforced Road description stating that it is built using stone.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with building range indicators glitching on farm fields.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with World Map fog being shifted close to the map edge.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with “other” effect tooltips in the species menu going out of bounds.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Settler’s Luck effect having an incorrect border color.
• ⚡ Fixed multiple mistranslations and typos.
  • German – the HUB description, the Ruined Settlement Tooltip, building sized in the Encyclopedia.
  • Portuguese – the Field Kitchen translation.
  • French – faction leader genders.
  • Spanish – faction leader genders, Resolve notifications.
  • Japanese – building movement tooltip, wood resource name, Disgrace effect description.
  • Russian – Fallen Villagers event description, coats resource name.
  • Traditional Chinese – Vineyard Town description.
  • Korean – mute in background option. 
  • Polish – “last level reached” notification.

Other

• ⚡ Extended the fog size of undiscovered glades (to cover more of the edges and hide potentially visible fertile soil).

OTHER CITY BUILDERS

We find it important to support other great indie projects, so in this one-time special section, we want to give a shout-out to two of our friends who solo-develop city builder games and have some big news to share.

Kainga: Seeds of Civilizations

Erik released the 1.0 version of his solo-developed roguelite village-builder Kainga: Seeds of Civilization on Steam. In Kainga, you discover the lands full of wonder and beauty, where strange beasts roam, and other tribes fight for resources.

For a limited time, you can get it in a bundle with Against the Storm for a reduced price:

Earth of Oryn

Edouard is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund his city builder set in a medieval world filled with story and heart. If you’re a fan of city builder games and want to support a cool new project, be sure to check out the Earth of Oryn Kickstarter page:

COMMUNITY CORNER

And now, the real highlight of this update: new community memes. Let’s go!

Harpies vs Humans by Lain Vohn Dyrec

The Glade by carrotdefender

Fishmen by Lain Vohn Dyrec

Getting away with murder by godskook

If you reached it here, you rock. For more memes come to our Discord and Reddit. Have a fantastic weekend!

CONTINUE READING...