Greetings, Viceroys!

The new DLC and a free content update are out now. There are a lot of new features to unpack, so let’s get right to it!

First, let’s meet a new playable species: Bats.

Nightwatchers DLC

The Nightwatchers DLC includes:

• New playable species: Bats
• New biome: Rocky Ravine
• New biome: Bamboo Flats
• New buildings: Manorial Court, Black Market, Bat House
• New mechanic: Fluffbeak
• 3 new Modifiers
• 3 new World Events
• 11 new Orders
• 3 new Citadel Upgrades
• 3 new Legendary Cornerstones
• 16 new Deeds
• 6 new Decorations
• 27 new music tracks
• And more!

You can get the Nightwatchers DLC here:

Check out the full and detailed list of DLC changes below.

Commons Update (1.8)

The free content update features:

• Commons – which lets villagers fulfill service needs at the Hearth
• Option to purchase additional blueprint and cornerstone slots in Prestige games
• Option to prioritize reward collection from glade events
• Updated looks of some buildings (Bat architecture)
• New Fox comfort specialization
• New Legendary Cornerstone
• New Smoldering City Upgrade
• And more!

You can find all the details in the Update changelog below.

Supporter Pack Update

We’re also happy to reveal a little secret we’ve been keeping from you for the past several months. We’ve been working on a 300+ page artbook that includes never-revealed concept art spanning the entire development process.

What’s more, we’ve just added it for free to the Supporter Pack!

But that’s not all. Here’s what’s new to the Supporter Pack:

• 300+ page digital artbook
• 27 new music tracks from the Nightwatchers DLC
• (Steam only) The OST from the Supporter Pack is now also a separate product in your Steam library, and you can listen to it via Steam’s native music player.
• 3 new World Event illustrations
• 3 new portraits
• 2 new emojis
• Nightwatchers wallpaper

Learn how to access the Supporter Pack content in this guide:

You can get the Supporter Pack separately or as part of the Complete Bundle with an additional discount:

DLC & UPDATE OVERVIEW

Bats

The most exciting addition in the Nightwatchers DLC is, of course, the new playable species – Bats. We first teased them back during early access in one of our community votes, and ever since then, Bats have never really left our minds. When we began working on our first DLC, Keepers of the Stone, we deliberately laid the groundwork for their eventual arrival. That’s why so many of the game’s core systems were reworked back then – and also why Commons Update (1.8) could afford to be a bit more conservative, without turning everything upside down again.

Even though we took a more cautious approach to the core systems this time (no new service needs or food types, for example), we still wanted Bats to feel fresh and different. We wanted them to be a species with a strong identity and a distinctive playstyle. Since Keepers of the Stone was a lighter expansion and the Frogs were a cheerful bunch, we decided that Nightwatchers would be darker and more mature in tone. The Bats would lean heavily into themes of ruthlessness, sacrifice, and death, both narratively and mechanically.

This direction wasn’t just thematic – it was a deliberate design choice. We wanted the Bats to fill two key niches: the metalworking branch of the economy, and the more ruthless playstyles centered around cornerstones like Ancient Pact or Cannibalism. That’s why they have a proficiency specialization in metallurgy and no comfort specialization at all. Instead, their unique trait grants them stacks of positive Resolve for every two members of another species who either leave or die.

This is further reinforced by their starting ability – the Manorial Court. Through a Smoldering City Upgrade, Bats can gain access to a unique building that allows them to exile members of a chosen species in exchange for a settlement-wide productivity boost. Think of it as the community “motivating” the rest by banishing its least productive members.

To top things off, the Bat Firekeeper’s passive – Steel Gut – gives villagers a 15% chance to not consume food during a break. It’s a small but helpful tool for managing food shortages or mitigating the impact of events like the Blood Flower.

Like every other species in the game, Bats come with a unique Resolve profile (for example, they have the lowest value for the “Demanding” trait so far), along with a distinctive set of needs (before their introduction, Biscuits and Skewers were somewhat underrepresented; with Bats, the distribution is now more or less even). They also have a unique house upgrade: the Repair Station. This effect rewards players with Copper Bars when accepting newcomer groups, reinforcing the Bats’ metallurgy theme and synergizing well with the Frog Firekeeper effect.

Lastly, Bats come with their own set of buildings. However, to avoid expanding the overall building pool too much, we didn’t introduce any new blueprints this time. Instead, we repurposed two existing buildings – the Grill and the Explorer’s Lodge (now renamed the Academy) – and made them exclusive to the Bat species.

There’s one small caveat: if you don’t own the DLC, the Academy and Grill will still be available without Bats in your settlement, just like in version 1.7. So nothing is being taken away with the release of the DLC.

The Rocky Ravine

Like Keepers of the Stone, the Nightwatchers DLC introduces two new biomes to explore. The first one is the Rocky Ravine – a barren, stony gorge devoid of organic life, but rich in minerals and ore. It’s a highly sought-after location for both traders and smugglers.

What sets this biome apart mechanically is a major twist: trees here don’t yield wood, but stone instead. As a result, the most common resource in other biomes becomes something you’ll need to manage carefully and spend wisely. But fret not – the Rocky Ravine also comes with new ways to handle resource shortages, namely through the introduction of the infamous Black Market.

The Black Market, operated by the notorious Black Amber Syndicate, is a special building available exclusively in the Rocky Ravine. It offers randomized, time-limited resource deals at varying prices. Goods can only be purchased with Amber, but there’s also an option to buy on credit. However, any unpaid debt must be settled within three seasons. Fail to do so, and… well, let’s just say the Black Amber Syndicate has ways of collecting. Some of your villagers might mysteriously disappear.

The idea for this biome had been floating around in our heads – and in community discussions – for quite some time. It was born from a combination of two questions: What if wood suddenly became a rare resource? And is there a way to introduce “reversed” trade routes, even if only in a single biome?

The first part was relatively easy to implement. But the reversed trade routes took a lot more iteration. After plenty of back and forth, we landed on an idea: what if you could buy goods on credit, and then deal with the consequences of your not-so-well-thought-out decisions later? This added a satisfying risk-reward dynamic to the Rocky Ravine and made the Black Market feel truly unique.

While the lack of wood is the defining gameplay trait of the Rocky Ravine, we also chose to significantly limit the amount of food available in this biome. This decision reinforces its harsh, resource-scarce theme and further encourages players to rely on the Black Market. To support this design, we also introduced Amber as a possible byproduct of cutting trees and added a passive effect that increases the frequency of arriving traders, which naturally leans the gameplay more toward trade.

The Bamboo Flats

To contrast the dark, harsh themes of the Rocky Ravine, we chose a more lighthearted motif for the second Nightwatchers biome – the Bamboo Flats. This lush, verdant expanse is covered by an endless sea of bamboo trees and serves as the home of the magnificent Fluffbeaks – gentle giants who love nothing more than munching on the sweet stems and leaves of the Tearsap Bamboo.

This biome has no naturally occurring fertile soil. Instead, players must create their own using fertilizer produced by a unique local creature – the Fluffbeak. However, to obtain this valuable resource, players must care for the gentle giant.

The Fluffbeak will periodically require raw food, rainwater, and warmth (in the form of fuel) to continue producing fertilizer and granting buffs to your settlement. If you stop meeting its needs, its happiness will decline.

However, it’s important to note that the Fluffbeak won’t die or leave if it is unhappy. We intentionally designed this mechanic to not feel like a burden or a mandatory task. Instead, it’s a completely optional system – there if you want to engage with it, but never forced.

Once you acquire fertilizer, you’ll be able to build Fertile Fields – a new type of building available only in this biome. These fields function like regular farm fields but come with fertile soil already underneath them, and you can place them anywhere you like. If a Fertile Field is destroyed, the fertile soil beneath it will remain.

Our main design goal with this biome was to once again create a playground for builds that players might not have used very often in the past. We wanted to explore how gameplay would shift if farming suddenly became a dominant way of acquiring resources, and how settlement layouts would evolve when shaped around perfectly square, evenly placed farm fields.

And of course, we also just wanted to have an excuse to add a giant, fluffy fella.

World Events and Modifiers

Aside from the usual new content that comes with a DLC – like cornerstones, orders, and deeds – this time we wanted to introduce something that also makes gameplay on the world map more dynamic and varied. That’s why Nightwatchers includes three new World Events and three World Map Modifiers.

First, let’s talk about the new World Events. We aimed to create something more unique this time – events that not only change the rules of the game while you’re resolving them, but also offer lasting and interesting rewards for the rest of the cycle. Things like a woodcutting automaton that rarely needs to return to the Woodcutters’ Camp, a unique trader you can summon at will, or a new resource that boosts rain engines.

To support these ideas, we also introduced a brand-new system: active abilities. Some World Events in the Nightwatchers DLC reward players with effects that don’t expire after a set number of games but instead have a limited number of uses. These can be activated at any point during the cycle from a new tab in the Warehouse UI.

We also took this opportunity to expand the world of Against the Storm and tell new stories involving a shady criminal organization, a colossal tree-devouring beast, and catastrophic experiments linked to the Blightrot. While we’re still adamant about not adding a story mode or too many narrative elements to the game, we love leaving hints and breadcrumbs throughout.

On the other hand, the new World Map Modifiers are our way of creating unique gameplay scenarios that bend the rules in one direction or another. They were designed to create new gameplay challenges, and with the Nightwatchers DLC, we introduced three new twists: a complete absence of rainwater geysers, a limit on the number of cornerstones you can hold at once, and a compact map with only five or six glades.

The Commons

Alongside the Nightwatchers DLC, we also released a free update that brings several new features, balance changes, and UI improvements. One of the most notable additions are the Commons – a new Hearth upgrade that allows villagers to fulfill their service needs directly at the Hearth, eliminating the early dependency on service buildings.

To use the Commons, you’ll first need to unlock it in the Smoldering City. Then, in each settlement, you can activate it by paying a small resource cost at the Ancient Hearth. Once active, villagers will fulfill their service needs at the Hearth during breaks. However, the Resolve bonus they receive will only be half of what they’d gain from using a dedicated service building.

Our main goal with this feature is to support Resolve-heavy or service-focused strategies earlier in the game – without waiting for a specific building to appear. It also raises the value of perks and blueprints tied to service goods, making options like the Work Safety Guide cornerstone or the Tinctury blueprint more viable in the early game.

Now, you might be wondering: why does the Commons need to be manually activated in each settlement, instead of being automatically enabled once unlocked in the Citadel? During early testing – both internally and in the DLC open alpha – we found that it was important to clearly communicate when this feature is active, why certain goods are being consumed, and what effect it’s having. Making it a conscious player decision helped with clarity and control. It also gives players strategic flexibility, as some may choose to activate it later in a run – or not at all, depending on their build.

Balance

Another mainline feature of the 1.8 update is the option to expand Cornerstone and Blueprint choices in Prestige games. Starting at Prestige 12 and 13, players can now spend Wildfire Essence and Ancient Tablets to add one extra option to each choice. This additional option will persist even after a reroll. However, once you select a cornerstone or blueprint, you’ll need to pay again to unlock the expanded pool in the next choice.

From a design standpoint, this change serves two purposes. First, it gives Wildfire Essence and Ancient Tablets more value by introducing a new, meaningful sink for these resources. Second, it addresses a recurring piece of player feedback – that Prestige 12 and 13 introduced too sharp a spike in difficulty, with the reduced number of choices feeling overly punishing to some players.

When searching for a solution to that second problem, we didn’t want to simply add another option by default or remove the modifier altogether, as that would risk trivializing the experience. The limited choice design plays directly into Against the Storm’s core philosophy: making the best of what you have. Preserving that tension was essential – so instead, we added a way for players to regain flexibility at a cost, giving more control without losing the challenge.

In addition to this major balance change, the 1.8 update also brings a range of smaller tweaks. One of the most notable ones is a change to the Fox comfort specialization. Previously, Foxes received a Resolve bonus when working in buildings infected with Blightrot. While this was a flavorful and thematic choice, it often caused confusion and led to unnecessary micromanagement. From version 1.8 onwards, Foxes will have the Cooperation specialization instead, and will gain a Resolve bonus when working in buildings where at least two other Foxes are employed.

Another impactful balance change in update 1.8 has to do with the amount of Amber gained from declining Cornerstones. Previously, each decline granted a flat bonus of 10 Amber. Now, that amount will decrease by 2 Amber with each subsequent decline – down to a minimum of 5 Amber.

We felt this change was necessary to make declining a more strategic, deliberate choice rather than the default action when a set of Cornerstones doesn’t immediately fit your build. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage players to consider more off-meta picks, resulting in more varied and interesting gameplay overall.

UX and miscellaneous changes

Update 1.8 also introduces a number of smaller features and quality-of-life improvements – many of which were inspired by community feedback. These include long-requested additions like the ability to prioritize rewards from glade events and improved tooltips for world events.

We’ve also reworked how internal storage functions in buildings. Instead of a single global storage limit per building, each produced or gathered resource now has its own individual limit. When a resource reaches that limit, it will be transported to a warehouse. This change is meant to address some frustrating logistics issues – for example, situations where workers seemed “stuck” endlessly delivering a single resource, because it kept reappearing as another worker was producing it.

For most players who don’t manually tweak internal storage settings, this change will likely maintain – or slightly improve – worker efficiency. More importantly, it helps prevent secondary resources from getting stuck due to priority conflicts, ensuring that all goods are transported more evenly and reliably.

We could go on and on about all the changes and tweaks, but this developer note is long enough as it is. For a full list of numerical adjustments and detailed changes, be sure to check out the complete changelogs below:

Thank you

Phew – that was a long one! Nothing left to say other than: thank you for all your feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for new content.

To end this note, we have some exciting news – not directly tied to the game itself, but something very close to our hearts. For the longest time, we’ve wanted to create something truly special, but never quite found the time – until now.

So… with the release of the second DLC and Update 1.8, we’re adding a massive, 300-page Digital Artbook to the Supporter Pack DLC. Inside, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how Against the Storm was created – from early design ideas and concept sketches to detailed illustrations and 3D renders. It’s a deep dive into the visual world of the game, and a small way for us to share our creative journey with you.

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

P.S. One of the best things you can do to help indie games is to leave a Steam review. If you’ve had a chance to play Against the Storm or the Nightwatchers DLC, we’d love to hear any feedback, positive or negative. Thanks!

NIGHTWATCHERS CHANGELOG

New content and features

• ⚡ 🦇 Added a new playable species – Bats.
  • A stern and fiercely devoted people, they take pride in enduring what breaks others and cannot stand being favored. Bats excel at metallurgy but find no particular comfort in any type of work.
  • Bats have the following needs:
    • Biscuits
    • Paste
    • Skewers
    • Coats
    • Brawling
    • Education
    • Basic Housing
    • Bat Housing
  • Bats have a proficiency specialization in metallurgy and no comfort specialization.
  • Instead of a comfort specialization, bats have a passive ability called Dedication.
    • Dedication – Bats take pride in surviving what breaks other species, and they do not take failure lightly. Bats gain +1 Resolve for every 2 members of other species who leave or die. One stack of Dedication is removed each time a Bat leaves or dies.
  • Bat firekeepers have the ability to reduce the chance of villagers consuming food during a break. 
    • Steel Gut – For minds steeled by discipline and focus, food becomes a second priority. Villagers have a 15% chance of not consuming food during a break.
  • Bat Houses have the same upgrade structure as most species in the game. There are three standard effects and one unique one.
    • Repair Station – In ancient times, Bats lived in vast underground halls, now overrun by the spawn of the Sealed Ones. Each time newcomers are accepted into the settlement, you gain 1 Copper Bar for every villager living in a house with this upgrade.
  • Bats’ starting ability is a unique essential building blueprint.
    • Manorial Court – A court where villagers gather to choose the least welcome member of a given species and send them back to the Smoldering City – an act that increases the diligence of those who remain.
    • In the manorial Court, you can choose a species to punish. One of its members will leave the settlement, permanently increasing the productivity of all workers.
    • Every exiled villager increased the global double yield chance by 4%.
  • Bats have the following attributes:
    • Initial Resolve: 5
    • Break interval: 1m 40s
    • Resilient: high
    • Demanding: 12
    • Decadent: 4
    • Hunger tolerance: 4
  • Bats are unlocked by reaching level 11.
  • The Bat starting ability can be unlocked in the Smoldering City at level 15.
  • Bat House upgrades can be unlocked in the Smoldering City at level 18.
  • The following buildings are now hidden from blueprint rolls when Bats are not present in the settlement: Academy (formerly known as Explorer’s Lodge), Grill.
    • This change is intended to address potential blueprint bloat after the introduction of Bats.
    • These buildings can still be found in glades, bought from traders, or acquired via Wildcard, even if there are no Bats in the settlement.
    • Players who don’t own the DLC will still see these buildings in their blueprint rolls, as they did before Bats were introduced, to maintain the balance for non-DLC players as it was before version 1.8.
• ⚡ 🦇 Added a new biome to the game – the Rocky Ravine.
  • Rocky Ravine – Giant underground caverns siphon rainwater from this strange depression, uncovering lands rich in minerals and ore, yet barren of life. It’s a sought-after destination for both traders and smugglers.
  • You will start your game in the Rocky Ravine with a new essential blueprint – the Black Market.
    • Black Market –  With resources stretched so thin in the kingdom, the penalty for contraband is death. Yet, where there’s a need, there’s a way – the Black Amber Syndicate thrives by catering to those settling in the harshest of regions.
    • In the Black Market, players will find a list of timed offers with different goods for sale. 
    • Offers will refresh every couple of minutes.
    • Black Market items have variable prices (the same resource may cost more or less when it reappears on the market).
    • Black market offers can be rerolled for Wildfire Essence.
    • Players can buy resources on the Black Market for Amber or on credit.
    • Prices may vary depending on whether you pay direct or on credit.
    • Buying on credit will result in a payment that’s due in 3 seasons.
    • For every missed payment, the Black Amber Syndicate will kidnap 2 villagers (4 villagers after year 4).
    • Buying goods on the Black Market does not count as trading for the purposes of Orders and Cornerstones.
  • Resources in the Rocky Ravine:
    • Herbs
    • Grain
    • Insects
    • Fish
    • Algae
    • Reeds
    • Clay
    • Sea Marrow
    • Coal
    • Copper Ore
  • Trees in the Rocky Ravine don’t yield wood, they give stone instead. They also have the following secondary resources:
    • Coal (10%)
    • Scales (10%)
    • Reeds (5%)
    • Amber (5%)
  • The Rocky Ravine also has two passive effects (aside from the Black Market).
    • Resource Hub – With such a wealth of resources, trade flourishes. Every time you sell goods worth 20 Amber, traders arrive 10% quicker and trade routes become 10% faster.
    • Royal Patronage – To ease the challenge of settling these harsh lands, the Crown has allocated additional resources for your caravan: 40 Wood and 10 Amber.
• ⚡ 🦇 Added a new biome to the game – the Bamboo Flats.
  • Bamboo Flats – A lush, verdant expanse covered by an endless sea of bamboo trees. It is home to the magnificent Fluffbeaks – a species of gentle giants who love nothing more than to munch on the sweet stems and leaves of the Tearsap Bamboo.
  • You will start your game in the Bamboo Flats with a unique companion at your side – the Fluffbeak.
    • Fluffbeak – Fluffbeaks are gentle creatures that rarely attack unless provoked. They cannot be domesticated and freely choose which caravan to “join”. Many settlements in this region have failed simply because no Fluffbeak was willing to settle nearby.
    • With the help of the Fluffbeak, players will be able to produce Fertilizer. 
    • Fertilizer can be used to build Fertile Fields – artificial patches of fertile land with a pre-built farm field on top.
    • The Fluffbeak will create Fertilizer if it’s happy enough. 
    • To raise the happiness of the Fluffbeak, players will need to satisfy its three needs – hunger, thirst, and warmth.
    • Each of the three needs requires different types of items. Raw food for hunger, rainwater for thirst, and fuel for warmth.
    • Increasing the happiness of the Fluffbeak will also trigger beneficial passive effects.
      • Village Mascot – Seeing this giant ball of fluff happy somehow makes the harsh reality surrounding the settlement a tiny bit easier to bear (+2 to Global Resolve).
      • Breadwinner – Leagues from the Capital, this creature’s well-being can mean the difference between life and death for the entire village. Villagers have a 10% higher chance of producing double yields.
  • Resources in the Bamboo Flats:
    • Herbs
    • Berries
    • Grain
    • vegetables
    • Meat
    • Scales
    • Plant Fiber
    • Leather
    • Stone
    • Salt
  • Trees in the Bamboo Flats have the following secondary resources:
    • Wood (40%)
    • Plant Fiber (10%)
    • Oil (10%)
  • The Bamboo Flats also has two passive effects (aside from the Giant Fluffbeak).
    • Rainwashed Soil – The unusually soft ground in this region has been heavily worn down by rain. Naturally occurring patches of Fertile Soil cannot be found here.
    • Farmer’s Pride – Farms have a 5% higher chance of producing double yields for every 1 Fertilizer obtained.
• 🦇 Added 11 new Orders.
  • Determined Bats (timed, 7m30s)
    • Objective: maintain Bats’ Dedication effect at 1/2 stack(s) for 60s/90s
    • Reward: Copper Ore Delivery Line, 5 Parts, 2 Bats
  • Aid for the Bat Clan
    • Objective: deliver 20/25/30 Copper Bars
    • Reward: 3 Bats, Bat Clan Support, 3 Parts
  • Bat Influx
    • Objective: deliver 30/45/60 Copper Ore
    • Reward: 5 Bats, Advanced Smelting, 25 Scrolls
  • Bat Population
    • Objective: have 6/8/10 Bats and reach 14/18/22 Bat Resolve
    • Reward: Grill Blueprint, 30 Skewers, 5 Parts
  • Bat Colony (timed, 8m)
    • Objective: have 6/8 Bat Houses
    • Reward: Fish Delivery Line, 40 Biscuits, 5 Bats
  • Bat Relatives
    • Objective: fulfill the need for Skewers 30/40/50 times and have 4/6/8 Bat Houses
    • Reward: Bat Clan Support, 5 Bats, 30 Copper Bars
  • Bat Villagers
    • Objective: have 8/10/12 Bats and fulfill the need for Biscuits 30/40/50 times
    • Reward: Advanced Smelting, 4 Bats, 30 Scrolls
  • Training
    • Objective: deliver 30/40/50 Training Gear and have an Academy (formerly known as the Explorer’s Lodge)
    • Reward: Woodworking Tools, 30 Coal, 30 Biscuits
  • Bat Majority
    • Objective: have 16/18/22 Bats and deliver 20 Scrolls
    • Reward: Specialized Mining, 20 Amber, Advanced Press
  • Dwellings
    • Objective: have 2/3 Bat Houses and 2/3 Fox Houses
    • Reward: Big Phials, 15 Copper Bars, 3 villagers
  • Judgement
    • Objective: exile 4/5/6 villagers
    • Reward: Copper Bars 20, Stamping Die, 3 Bats
• 🦇 Added 3 new Citadel Upgrades.
  • Brass Forge Level 10 – unlocks the Bat starting ability.
  • Brass Forge Level 12 – unlocks Bat House upgrades.
  • Vanguard Spire Level 9 – unlocks essential Bat Houses.
  • The new unlocks have been added to the middle of existing upgrade tree branches, so some upgrades above them have been moved up to make room. As a result, you might find new upgrades already unlocked in your save file, and need to repurchase an older upgrade that was shifted upward.
• 🦇 Added 3 new Legendary Cornerstones.
  • Crystal Cathode – A fragile device that extracts energy from charged rainwater. Production bonuses in Rain Engines are stronger (75% production speed, 33% double yield chance), but Blightrot Cysts will appear 20% faster when using Rain Engines.
  • Steel Focus – Seeing Bats excel at their craft has a motivating effect on the rest of the settlement. Gain 8% global production speed for every Bat working in a building with the Metallurgy specialization.
  • Festering Wounds – Some old grudges still linger. Bats gain +2 Resolve for every 2 Frog villagers that leave or die. But when Global Resolve drops, it falls 30% faster.
• 🦇 Added a new Glade Event.
  • Fallen Bat Miners – A group of fallen Bat miners, their tools left where they dropped. It seems they were scouting for a new mining site when something struck them down. The sight of these bodies causes unrest among the Bat population.
• 🦇 Added 3 new World Events.
  • Black Amber Syndicate – As your caravan creaks across a crumbling ancient bridge, a hooded figure steps into your path. An insectoid mouth clicks beneath the hood. “These are dangerous lands, stranger. Perhaps we could offer you some… help?” Before you can respond, more cloaked figures emerge from the shadows, their gazes expectant. It’s clear this isn’t an offer one refuses lightly.
    • Cut a deal
      • Condition – Curse. Pay 40 Amber before year 6 starts, or 4 villagers will be kidnapped. Expires after 2 successful settlements in the current cycle.
      • Reward – Active ability. When activated, immediately calls a Syndicate Trader to your settlement. Can be triggered from the Main Warehouse. Expires after 5 uses.
    • Negotiate
      • Condition – none.
      • Reward – Cycle effect. All traders offer mystery boxes instead of perks and blueprints. Expires after 3 successful settlements in the current cycle.
  • Catastrophic Experiment – As you travel the wide and unusually even Royal Road, scattered alchemical tools catch your eye. The further you go, the more you find – until a familiar stench taints the air: Blightrot. Minutes later, you discover the source – a wrecked wagon, its frame crawling with Cysts. It seems you’ve stumbled upon the aftermath of an experiment gone awry.
    • Complete the experiment
      • Condition – Objective. Win the game after constructing and detonating a Blight Bomb.
      • Reward – Cycle effect. You gain access to Fuel Rods for the next 3 games. They are crafted in the Field Engineering Station and can be used to significantly boost the effectiveness of Rain Engines.
    • Send a scout
      • Condition – Cost. All of your starting caravans lose 1 villager for the duration of this Cycle.
      • Reward – Cycle effect. A rainpunk automaton will permanently occupy one workplace in every mine in your settlement. Lasts for the entire Cycle.
  • Tree Grazer – As you push through the dense foliage, you notice movement in the distance – massive trees swaying, then crashing to the ground. With a few scouts at your side, you creep closer. And after a short, tense walk, the source of the chaos emerges from the mist – a Tree Grazer.
    • Follow the beast
      • Condition – Objective. Win a game with a Tree Grazer in your settlement – a giant beast that consumes one tree every 20 seconds, opening up to 10 glades.
      • Reward – Active ability. When activated, adds a Rainpunk Shredder to every Woodcutters’ Camp in the settlement. This large automaton can fell multiple trees without returning to camp. Can be triggered from the Main Warehouse. Expires after 3 uses.
    • Investigate the aftermath
      • Condition – Objective. A giant Tree Grazer recently passed through this area. You start your settlement with 2 Dangerous Glades and 2 to 3 Small Glades already open.
      • Reward – Cycle effect. You unlock the ability to upgrade Woodcutters’ Camps. Expires after 3 successful settlements in the current cycle.
  • Related to these world events are several new mechanics – given to players in the form of rewards.
    • Active Abilities – special effects that can be manually activated in the Main Warehouse and have a limited number of uses (like the Rainpunk Shredder, calling a Syndicate Trader, etc.).
    • Woodcutters’ Camp upgrades.
    • Fuel Rods – a special new resource that doubles the effectiveness of Rain Engines but also accelerates the spread of Blightrot Cysts. They are crafted in the new Field Engineering Station and inserted into buildings through a new UI in the Rainpunk tab.
• 🦇 Added 3 new World Map Modifiers.
  • Riverlands – A region crisscrossed by countless rivers, both large and small. Usable land is scarce, as most of the terrain is either flooded or split by waterways. Your settlement stands on a small, isolated island.
  • Drylands – For some strange reason, even in a world of endless rain, this region holds no underground reservoirs. Not a single rainwater geyser can be found here.
  • Silent Dominion – This place once held great significance for the ancients. Even now, a silent guardian still watches over it. You are not allowed to have more than 3 Cornerstones, and you must discard an old one to accept a new one.
    • This modifier was also added to the Daily Expedition pool.
• 🦇 Added a few new dialogue topics to Lori (related to the new content)
• 🦇 Added the Haunted Bat House to the pool of ruins that can be found in glades.
• 🦇 Added 3 new ghost encounters to the Cursed Royal Woodlands.
• 🦇 Added 16 new Deeds.
  • Bat Settlement – Win a game with at least 25 Bats.
  • Bat Utopia – Win a game with 30 Bats, 15 x Bat House, 1 x Academy (formerly known as the Explorer’s Lodge)
  • The Rocky Ravine – Win a game on the Rocky Ravine biome.
  • Rock and Stone – Win a game in the Rocky Ravine biome, and on Viceroy difficulty (or higher).
  • Exiled – Exile 50 villagers in the Manorial Court.
  • The Weakest Link – Exile 15 villagers in the Manorial Court in one game.
  • Shady Dealings – Complete 50 transactions on the Black Market.
  • Living on Credit – Buy 500 Amber worth of goods on credit on the Black Market.
  • Bankruptcy – Buy 100 Amber worth of goods on credit on the Black Market in one game.
  • The Bamboo Flats – Win a game on the Bamboo Flats biome.
  • Fluffbeak Paradise – Win a game in the Bamboo Flats biome, and on Viceroy difficulty (or higher).
  • Green Thumb – Win a game after building at least 40 Fertile Fields in the Bamboo Flats.
  • Peaceful Life – Keep the Fluffbeak’s happiness at 75% or higher for at least 20 minutes.
  • Riverlands – Win a game near the Riverlands modifier.
  • Drylands – Win a game near the Drylands modifier.
  • Silent Dominion – Win a game near the Silent Dominion modifier.
• 🦇 Added 6 new decorations.
  • Syndicate Chest – unlocked by completing the Bankruptcy Deed.
  • Tearsap Bamboo Sapling – unlocked by completing the Fluffbeak Paradise Deed.
  • Basalt Tree Sapling – unlocked by completing the Rock and Stone Deed.
  • Mausoleum – unlocked by completing the Weakest Link Deed.
  • Ornamental Fence – unlocked by completing the Bat Settlement Deed.
  • Ornamental Fence Corner – unlocked by completing the Bat Utopia Deed.
• 🦇 Added 2 new menu skins.
  • Rocky Ravine
  • Bamboo Flats
• 🦇 Added 27 new music tracks available exclusively in the two new biomes.

COMMONS UPDATE 1.8 CHANGELOG

New content and features

• Added the option to purchase an additional blueprint slot in the Reputation Rewards panel at Prestige 12 and above.
  • Additional slots can be bought using Ancient Tablets.
  • The extra slot applies only to the current blueprint selection. It can be bought again for the next reputation reward choice.
  • Rerolling does not remove the additional slot.
• Added the option to purchase an additional cornerstone slot in the yearly cornerstone window at Prestige 13 and above.
  • Additional slots can be bought using Wildfire Essence.
  • The extra slot applies only to the current cornerstone selection. It can be bought again for the next cornerstone choice.
  • Rerolling does not remove the additional slot.
• Added 1 new Smoldering City Upgrade.
  • Monastery of the Vigilant Flame Level 6 – unlocks the Commons.
  • The new unlock has been added to the middle of an existing upgrade tree branch, so some upgrades above it have been moved up to make room. As a result, you might find the new upgrade already unlocked in your save file, and need to repurchase an older upgrade that was shifted upward.
• Added an option to unlock service need fulfillment at the Hearth. 
  • To start fulfilling needs at the Hearth, you first need to unlock the Commons in the Main Hearth.
  • The Commons – a shared space where villagers can fulfill service needs like Leisure, Luxury, Religion, etc. Satisfying needs here grants a smaller Resolve bonus than in dedicated service buildings.
  • The commons are in a separate tab in the Hearth UI. Unlocking them costs 8 Planks. Once unlocked, the UI tab will list all service needs that can be fulfilled at the Hearth.
  • To gain access to the Commons, you must first purchase an upgrade in the Smoldering City – the Monastery of the Vigilant Flame Level 6 upgrade (for 60 Food Stockpiles and 12 Machinery).
  • Fulfilling a service need at a Hearth will grant a smaller Resolve bonus than if the same need was fulfilled in a service building.
  • Passive bonuses tied to service goods will still be applied if a service need is fulfilled at a Hearth (double yield chance).
  • Restricting services in the Consumption Panel applies penalties in the same way as in the case of complex food.
• Added a new Legendary Cornerstone.
  • Spirit of Cooperation – High spirits can be contagious. Beavers gain +2 Resolve for every Reputation Point gained through Harpy Resolve.

Balance

• ⚡ Changed the comfort specialization for Foxes.
  • Foxes no longer gain a Resolve bonus from working in buildings infected with Blightrot.
  • Instead, they now have the Cooperation specialization. They will gain a Resolve bonus if at least three Foxes are working in the same building.
  • The specialization icon for Cooperation will appear in the building UI dynamically.
• ⚡ Changed the order in which initial Firekeepers are assigned to the Hearth. The game will now start with a firekeepers species that is more useful in early game.
  • This does not mean that the game will always choose the best firekeeper for each settlement. It’s just a simple algorithm that prioritizes effects that are generally more useful at the beginning of a settlement.
• Reputation generation from Resolve now caps at 0.75 per minute for every species.
• The Amber reward for declining Cornerstones now decreases with each subsequent decline.
  • Each time you decline a Cornerstone, the reward is reduced by 2 Amber, down to a minimum of 5 Amber.
• World Events with a payment now require players to both complete the payment and win the game before year x.
• Increased the time it takes to cut down a tree from 6 to 9 seconds.
• Increased the base gathering time of Stone, Reeds, Plant Fibre, Sea Marrow, Leather, and Clay from 5s to 8s.
• Rebalanced a few Orders:
  • Distant Journey (Timed Order) – Increased the time limit by 30s.
  • Need for Timber (Timed Order) – Increased the time limit by 30s.
• Increased the price of all service goods sold by traders by around 15 – 20%.
• Increased the travel time of all trade routes by around 10%.
• Rebalanced trade route resource pools across several biomes (Ashen Thicket, Coastal Grove, Scarlet Orchard, Marshlands). Each biome now has a similar number of desired resources, providing more even coverage across all of them (thus avoiding situations where eggs would be desired by six biomes and meat by only two, for example).

UX/UI improvements

• ⚡ Revamped decision tooltips for World Events.
  • Hovering over a decision in a World Event popup now shows two separate tooltips: one for the Condition and one for the Reward.
  • Each tooltip includes a color-coded label indicating its category (e.g., Objective, Resource, Cost, Curse).
  • Many tooltip texts have also been updated for clarity – for example, resource changes now clearly state that they apply to the entire Cycle.
• ⚡ Added an option to prioritize reward collection from Glade Events.
  • Scouts collect rewards based on their position in the UI, from left to right (leftmost rewards are collected first).
  • Shift + Left Click moves a reward one spot to the left.
  • Ctrl + Left Click moves a reward one spot to the right.
• ⚡ Added an option to prioritize goods collection from Ponds.
  • This works similarly to how you prioritize reward collection in Events. Use Shift + LMB to increase priority and Ctrl + LMB to decrease it.
• ⚡ Changed how internal storage in buildings works.
  • Each produced or gathered resource now has its own storage limit, replacing the previous global resource limit per building.
  • When a resource reaches its limit, it will be transported to a warehouse.
  • Left Click forces an immediate delivery of a resource.
  • Shift + Left Click enables automatic forced delivery, making workers transport the resource every time a unit is produced or gathered.
  • If a good isn’t delivered to the Warehouse for 120 seconds, delivery will be forced.
  • For most players who don’t adjust internal storage settings, this change will likely maintain or slightly improve worker efficiency. However, it helps prevent cases where secondary resources remain stuck in buildings due to priority issues, ensuring all goods are transported more evenly.
• ⚡ The trader arrival timer will now stop completely during the Storm and only continue during the Drizzle and Clearance.
  • To maintain the old balance, all traders now have a slightly shorter arrival time. By default, they should appear more or less every full year.
  • The main purpose of this change is to make the effects that affect the arrival time of traders more meaningful.
• ⚡ Added a tooltip to the “unlock” button in the upgrade tree in Smoldering City, explaining that an upgrade cannot be purchased if the previous one has not been acquired.
• ⚡ Reworded world event objectives based on completing payment before year X, so it’s clearer what the requirement is.
• ⚡ Reworded the description of the Aura of Peace Forest Mystery to avoid confusion.
• ⚡ Changed the description of the Paradise deed. It now clearly states that all three species must be present in the settlement.
• ⚡ The Ruined Rainpunk Foundry now shows its entrance after being selected.
• ⚡ The random town name generator now tries to avoid duplicate names within a cycle, if possible.
  • However, duplicate names can still occur if the pool of names is exhausted.
• ⚡ Updated the Resolve encyclopedia entry to also mention boots as a clothing need.
• With the addition of the Commons, services in service buildings and in the Hearth now display a star rating. Hovering over the stars reveals a tooltip that explains whether the full Resolve bonus is granted (in service buildings) or only half (in the Commons at the Hearth).
• Added a floating text and sound effect to the Payment icon on the HUD that plays when a payment is made (showing the amount of Amber subtracted).
• Added a floating text and sound effect to the trade route icon on the HUD that plays when a trade route is automatically collected (showing the amount of Amber gained).
• Improved readability of “in progress” trade route slots in the Trade Routes panel.
• Some entries in the Global Effects tab in the Warehouse have been renamed for clarity.
• Receiving a random blueprint reward from the Overzealous Architects Cornerstone will now display an alert on the HUD.
• Updated the internal storage loading tip to more accurately reflect how the system now works.
• Added a new entry, called “Food Saved”, to the Town Statistics tab. It counts the number of food items players saved thanks to “no consumption” effects.
• Added a tooltip to the cornerstone icon on the HUD.
• Buildings with no specialization will now show “none” in the specialization section in the in-game Encyclopedia.

Bug fixes

• ⚡ Fixed a rare bug where rewards from solved glade events would sometimes teleport directly to a warehouse.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where mirrored buildings would not retain their mirrored state after being turned into a ruin.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where settlement statistics were not displayed at the end of a game in the Sealed Forest.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Trade Hub Cornerstone to appear in games with disabled Orders.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Queen’s Gift Cornerstone could appear in games with the Roaming Swarm debuff.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where some cycle effects were affecting Daily Challenge settlements.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where different versions of the Shoe Mold perk all had the same effect (+2 to production).
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the High Motivation effect had the wrong description (mentioning food instead of service goods).
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Hurried Expedition order could be drawn with only 2 rewards.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where no production multiplier was displayed above workplaces in the farm UI.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the villager count in the Forsaken Altar UI would not update in real time after sacrificing villagers.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where meta resource icons were displayed in different orders under different upgrade nodes.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue where the Ashen Thicket menu skin was not accessible on Queen’s Hand Trial profiles.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Puffed Grain Cornerstone was spawning unnecessary “Porridge +1” icons on the HUD.
• ⚡ Fixed a rare bug where rainwater geysers created by the Kelpie Glade Event would appear on top of other map objects.
• ⚡ Fixed a rare bug that caused the world map to break when a map tile was changed in the background during a Sealed Forest game.
• ⚡ Fixed multiple incorrectly placed entrances in Flawless/Holy/Purged buildings and ruins.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where destroying the Feast Hall building did not return resources.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the flame FX in the Harmony Spirit Altar to be slightly off-centre.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the quest given by the Ghost of a Resentful Human did not count Purged Human Houses towards completion.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that was duplicating some rewards in Abandoned Caches.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the space key wasn’t working in the Forest Mystery search bar in Training Expeditions.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where the “Blood Flower spawned” alert was not triggering in some instances.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug where some instances of villagers dying or leaving did not trigger an alert.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused some glades to unveil incorrectly in the Cursed Royal Woodlands.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Butcher building to mirror incorrectly.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused Numpad Enter to not work for confirming values in the Trading Post.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused different maximum charge values to be displayed in vein tooltips and in the selected mining vein UI.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused cyst-based orders to appear with empty requirements in Training Expeditions.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that prevented the Holy Market and Holy Temple from counting toward completion of the Marketplace deed.
• ⚡ Fixed an audible glitch in the sound effect of the Fishmen Lighthouse glade event.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the “Max. Bonus” section of growing Resolve bonuses/penalties to display an incorrect value.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Ruins and Untamed Wilds modifiers to appear together in Daily Expeditions.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Blightrot Cyst alert to appear even when there was no more space for a new cyst in the settlement.
• ⚡ Fixed a visual glitch on water textures in Frog Houses.
• ⚡ Fixed a rare bug that caused the game to start with an incorrect resolution.
• ⚡ Fixed a missing translation for the Specialized Workwear perk.
• ⚡ Fixed numerous typos, errors, and inconsistencies in the Simplified Chinese version of the game (biome descriptions, dialogue, building descriptions, lore tablets, cycle effects, deeds, effects, perks, cornerstones, tooltips, villager status effects, resource descriptions, citadel upgrades, ghost descriptions, events, encyclopedia entries, world events, custom game UI).
• ⚡Fixed a few mistranslations in the Brazilian Portuguese version of the game (two identical building names, fishing pond UI).
• ⚡ Fixed a few mistranslations in the Russian version of the game (perks, deeds).
• ⚡ Fixed a few mistranslations in the French version of the game (perks, service building effects, needs).
• ⚡ Fixed a few mistranslations in the Polish version of the game (building names, cornerstone forge effects).
• ⚡ Fixed a few typos in the Ukrainian version of the game (cornerstone forge effects, trade route perks, seal contracts, Exploration Expedition).
• ⚡ Fixed a few typos in the Japanese version of the game (order objectives).
• ⚡ Fixed a few typos and inconsistencies in the German version of the game (Clan Hall effects, Embarkation Points, starting abilities).
• Fixed an issue where Reputation from Resolve could be gained faster than the maximum value displayed on the Reputation Bar.
• Fixed a bug that caused reputation points to be rounded incorrectly on some systems.
• Fixed a rare bug where some dead villagers could be assigned to buildings.
• Fixed a bug where the “Player Home” unlock was not displayed in the Deed reward popup.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented species portraits from appearing next to the mouse pointer when assigning villagers to buildings using the workplace overlay.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the pulse animation to appear around the “end cycle” button during the World Map tutorial. 
• Fixed a bug that caused incorrect labels to appear in species tooltips in the level up rewards popup.
• Fixed a bug that caused random smoke effects to sometimes appear on the map.
• Fixed a bug that caused trade route tooltips to not appear in the Training Expedition panel.
• Fixed a rare bug that caused some Queen’s Hand Trial upgrades to appear twice in the same roll.
• Fixed a bug that caused an orange texture to grow uncontrollably when the game was paused during an explosion.
• Fixed a bug that caused tooltips in the Feedback window to be displayed behind the popup background.
• Fixed a rare bug that caused some cycle effects to overlap on the World Map HUD.
• Fixed a rare bug that caused the game to freeze when a glade event was selected during the Seal closing animation.

Other

• ⚡ Changed the name of the Bleeding Trees perk to avoid duplicates.
• ⚡🐸 The Ancient Hearth has been moved in some Coastal Grove maps so that its range does not include inaccessible water fields.
• ⚡ Scaffolding will no longer be placed outside the footprint of buildings.
• Removed the “request a feature” button from the ESC menu.
  • We have decided to stop working with the feedback collection platform the “Request a Feature” button linked to (for various reasons, mainly because we were not happy with their service).
  • There are still multiple other tools you can use to contact us to leave feedback and suggestions, like the in-game reporting tool (accessible in the ESC menu, or by pressing F11), Discord, and the Steam forums. We still linger on all these platforms and read every bit of feedback.
  • Suggestions and reports from the old feedback platform will be archived.
• Changed the name of the Explorer’s Lodge to the Academy.
• Changed the visual appearance of multiple buildings in the game. They now use Bat architecture.
  • Grill
  • Smelter
  • Smithy
  • Tinkerer
  • Toolshop
  • Academy (formerly known as the Explorer’s Lodge)
• Removed the option to ignore Cysts in the Blightrot Overlay and in the Blight Post.
  • This option was designed to support a playstyle based around the old Fox specialisation, Blightrot. Now that this specialisation has changed, we have found that this option is no longer useful. Additionally, it introduced extra micromanagement that we weren’t keen on.
• Adjusted the positioning of scouts in glade event animations.
• The save backup system has been improved to create more reliable backups.
• Cleaned up the main menu. 
  • Updated button styles, unified fonts and animations, improved background visuals, and enhanced logo readability for a cleaner, more cohesive look.
  • Removed the news panel on the left side of the screen. News are now displayed only via a popup when launching the game for the first time after a patch.
  • DLC icons were added to the main menu to show which DLCs are active.
  • If only one DLC is active, DLC-specific logos will be displayed. When both are active, the main menu will show a “Complete Edition” logo and a new menu background will be unlocked (the “Complete Edition” skin).

Supporter Pack Update

• Added a 300+ page digital artbook with concept art spanning the entire development process and featuring unused ideas.
• Added 3 new World Event illustrations.
• Added 3 new portraits.
• Added 2 new emojis.
• Added a Nightwatchers wallpaper.
• Added 27 new music tracks from the Nightwatchers DLC in .mp3, .flac, and .wav formats.
• Removed the .ogg file versions of the soundtrack due to the inflated download weight. The .ogg is a lossy format which can be converted from lossless .wav files included in the Supporter Pack’s Soundtrack. If you’d like to get the .ogg files, please reach out to us.
• (Steam only) The soundtrack included in the Supporter Pack is now a separate Steam Music app type and activates automatically for all Supporter Pack owners. This means it now appears as a separate product in your Steam Library (you may need to enable Soundtracks in your library filter), and you can listen to it directly through Steam’s built-in player.
  • To download the files, open Against the Storm – Soundtrack in your Steam library and select “Download Album”. This will download .mp3 files and all album cover images.
  • To download the high-quality lossless .flac and .wav files, open Steam settings, go to the Music tab, and enable the “Download high-quality audio files”.
  • To access the music files on your drive, open Against the Storm – Soundtrack in your Steam library and select “Browse Local Files”.
• Added Nightwatchers – Original Game Soundtrack album cover image.

The current game version is 1.8.4.

SETTLEMENT SAVES & LEGACY BRANCHES INFORMATION

As with all major updates, numerous systemic changes require us to close the ongoing settlements to avoid potential issues. As compensation, you’ll receive extra Citadel Resources and Royal Resupply. On a community request, we also added an option to decline that reward.

(Steam only) However, for those of you who weren’t able to finish their settlements and are desperate to do so, we also prepared a separate Legacy Branch 1.7, where we’ll keep the previous version available indefinitely.

If you want to finish your current settlement, follow the instructions below prior to playing with the new Commons Update (1.8).

Legacy Branch 1.7

We always recommend playing on the latest public version as we continuously ensure it’s in the best technical state. However, if you prefer, you can download and play the “pre-Bats” version 1.7.6 (Legacy Branch 1.7) using Steam’s Betas branching functionality.

Please carefully read the guide below to learn more about switching branches and potential issues that may occur:

If you only wish to finish your current settlement there, please remember to return to the main branch later.

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