Greetings, Viceroys!

The dust has barely settled after Foxes joined the game, but we’re already back with the new content update in which we’re introducing:

• New glade event: Merchant Shipwreck
• 8 new Deeds
• 6 new Ghost encounters
• 7 new Orders
• and more!

Continue reading for our design notes and the full changelog.

RECENT CRASHING PROBLEMS

With the Sentinels of the Forest release, we decided to update our (rapidly aging) Unity engine version. Despite picking the most stable version available (polished by the creators for over a year), the number of crashes in Against the Storm sadly increased. While a large part of the reported issues was solved by updating hardware drivers, we are aware that for some of you, the problems still persist. Unfortunately, the source of these crashes is far beyond our reach, and we have a very limited set of tools we can use to fix them.

That being said, the Merchant Shipwreck Update contains a few under-the-hood changes that, while slightly degrading the game’s overall performance, will prevent the Unity engine from deadlocking itself. In case that won’t be enough, we will continue looking for a solution with more frequent builds on the Experimental Branch.

DEVELOPER NOTES

The last fourteen days were pretty intense – the reception of the new playable species was very positive, and we’ve received a lot of cool feedback and suggestions. Our community has also grown immensely after the game was recently featured on the front page of Steam. Thank you all for your invaluable support, and please give a warm welcome to all the new Against the Storm players!

With Sentinels of the Forest Update, we finalized the majority of the Early Access goals that we set on the roadmap. So, what else is there in the pipeline for Against the Storm? Worry not, we still have a lot to add to the game, and our usual bi-weekly updates won’t stop anytime soon! We will share a new roadmap in the coming days, so stay tuned!

A quick side note while we’re on the topic of the Foxes update – some of you really liked the new Fox portrait. You can download it from our press kit and check the behind-the-scenes process on ArtStation.

Let’s now jump right into this newest update. This time, we bring you a variety of new content – a new glade event, new orders, new ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands, new deeds, decisions for some previously overlooked events, multiple balance changes, numerous UI improvements, two new music tracks, and official support for the Thai language.

Merchant Shipwreck

Ghost of a Lizard Elder and Ghost of a Fox Scout

First off, let’s talk about events. The most exciting thing is of course the new addition – the Merchant Shipwreck. It’s a destroyed ship found in the middle of the forest. It has two decisions, a working effect tied to trading, and a nasty consequence if it’s not solved (I’ll let you discover that for yourself). We also looked at some older events and added new decisions where there was just one option (like in the Noxious Machinery or Corrupted Caravan). This way the only events left without multiple decisions are the smallest ones, like the Fishmen Totem or Living Matter.

Speaking of Living Matter – it’s no longer called that, as it’s now named “Blood Flower”. We decided to completely change this event’s flavor, description, and model because for a long time now it was causing some problems. Its visuals were simply a particle effect, and due to this, we needed to use an uglier fallback asset for older hardware that couldn’t compile complex shaders/FXs. Plus, quite honestly, the original Living Matter visual representation wasn’t too appealing in the first place. The new Blood Flower on the other hand is prettier, easier to maintain, more unique, and doesn’t require any special treatment for low-end machines.

Blood Flower

This update also fills a few gaps in terms of content. We added 8 new deeds, all tied to the new modifiers introduced a few versions earlier, and we added new ghost encounters to the Cursed Royal Woodlands (you can now find a few Fox ghosts). There are also 7 new orders with new objective types (completing high-value trade routes and discovering glades in quick succession).

We also took some time to improve the game’s balance in a few places. This time it wasn’t just numerical changes though, but rather mechanical adjustments to some smaller systems. Most notably, we changed how Standing is gained in trade routes (it now progresses based on Amber traded, not the number of transactions), and how Cysts are spawned during the Storm (previously, they would always appear opened. Now, if they spawn after the last open cyst was destroyed, they will appear closed). We also adjusted the spawn rates of ghosts in the Cursed Royal Woodlands to minimize the chances of having two or more of the same ghost on one map.

Last, but certainly not least – UX, UI, technical stuff, and other additions. We added the “move” button to the Trading Post, added the option to increase production limits by 5 or 10 (using Shift/Ctrl), and introduced a color-coding system to tooltips (owned blueprints are now highlighted in resource tooltips). We also fixed a ton of bugs, improved the overall stability and performance of the game, and introduced yet another language – Thai!

Trading Post

As always – thank you all for providing feedback and suggestions for the new update. 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

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

P.S. If you’ve picked up Against the Storm and have been playing it, make sure to leave a Steam review! They help a lot!

CHANGELOG

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by community.

New content and features

• ⚡ Added a new dangerous glade event.
  • Merchant Shipwreck – How powerful must the storm surge have been to carry this shattered wreck all the way here? Perhaps in the distant past, there was a sea in this place? It looks as if it had been lying here for centuries. Strange voices can be heard from below the deck…
• ⚡ Added 8 new deeds. All of them are tied to the new modifiers that were introduced into the game a few updates ago.
  • Frosts – Win a game near the Frosts modifier.
  • Abandoned Settlement – Win a game near the Abandoned Settlement modifier.
  • Untamed Wilds – Win a game near the Untamed Wilds modifier.
  • Land of Greed – Win a game near the Land of Greed modifier.
  • Petrified Necropolis – Win a game near the Petrified Necropolis modifier.
  • Gathering Storm – Win a game near the Gathering Storm modifier.
  • Overgrown Library – Win a game near the Overgrown Library modifier.
  • Ominous Presence – Win a game near the Ominous Presence modifier.
• Added 6 new ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands.
  • Ghost of a Lizard Elder
  • Ghost of a Lost Scout
  • Ghost of an Old Merchant
  • Ghost of a Murdered Trader
  • Ghost of a Fox Elder
  • Ghost of a Teadoctor
• Added 7 new Orders. All of them make use of new objective types introduced into the game – completing trade routes with a given minimum value, and discovering glades in a short time span.
  • Profit Margin
  • Profitable Trade
  • Fair Exchange
  • Export Hub
  • Into the Unknown
  • Hasty Explorer
  • All at Once

Balance

• ⚡ Rebalanced the spawn rates of ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands. The chances of coming across two identical ghosts on the same map should now be minimal.
• ⚡ Changed how cyst spawning during the Storm works. Previously, every Cyst that spawned during the Storm was immediately open. Now, after the last open Cyst was burned, subsequent cysts will appear closed.
  • This means that if you are in the middle of burning Cysts during the Storm, and a new one appears, it will be open. But if you burn all Cysts, and a new one appears only after the last one has been destroyed, it will lay dormant until the next Storm (or until awakened by an event, like the Infected Mole).
• ⚡ Changed the Land of Greed modifier effect. It no longer removes event rewards.
  • Land of Greed – The strange totem causes you to only focus on your wealth… And the Crown is worried. Impatience grows 50% quicker, but every ongoing trade route reduces Impatience generation speed by 20%. 
• ⚡ Added new decisions to 5 already existing glade events. 
  • Corrupted Caravan – with the option to either cleanse it or send contaminated goods to the Citadel (tagged as corruption).
  • Fuming Machinery – with the option to either tear it down or fix it (and be rewarded with a decoration with a special effect).
  • Withered Tree – with the option to either cleanse it or cut it down.
  • Petrified Tree –  with the option to either cut it down or heal it (tagged as empathy).
  • Noxious Machinery – with the option to either cleanse it or tear it down.
• ⚡ If a player isn’t level 2 after the second tutorial map (because they skipped the tutorial, lost a game, or an update reset their settlement), they will be automatically promoted to level 2 after entering the World Map for the first time.
• Changed the reward for the “fix” option in the Leaking Cauldron glade event. Instead of giving Reputation, it spawns fertile soil around.
• Changed the way newcomer scaling works. Previously, the number of new villagers was based on the population of a settlement. Now the numbers are based statically on the number of years past. This change was introduced to allow players to recover more quickly after a negative chain of events wipes out a significant portion of their villagers.
• Changed the way Standing levels progress when using Trade Routes. Previously, neighboring towns would level up after a fixed number of routes were completed. Now it’s the value of your transactions that counts. This change should introduce more variance into the system, and make it possible to gain Standing more reliably (with big transactions).
• Increased the Complex Food requirement in the Vitality effect. It now requires 200  units (instead of 150) of complex food consumed to add the Resolve bonus.
  

UX/UI improvements

• ⚡ The Trading Post is now movable. The “move” button can be found in the Trading Panel after selecting the building (you can also move the Trading Post by hovering your cursor over it and pressing M on your keyboard).
• ⚡ Added an option to rebind the “copy building” function in the Options menu.
• ⚡ Resource tooltips now show which buildings a player owns (they are highlighted in the list of all buildings that can produce said resource).
• ⚡ Tooltips for goods are now formatted differently. They display building names in a list and show the star rating of a recipe next to the building name. 
• ⚡ Need tooltips now show which service buildings a player owns (they are highlighted in the list of all buildings that can fulfill said need).
• ⚡ Holding Shift when changing production limits will now change the number by 10. Holding Ctrl will change the number by 5.
• ⚡ The clickable area for Woodcutters’ Camp settings has been enlarged.
• ⚡ Resources in the “related goods” section of the Recipe Popup are now separated based on which slot they are assigned to in the original recipe.
• ⚡ Clicking on a need icon in a service building will now open the Recipe Panel and automatically search for the good required to satisfy the said need. 
• ⚡ Changed the name and icon of the Obsidian Shovels perk to avoid confusion.
• Improved scaling for almost all tooltips in the game. Tooltips should now be able to resize more easily in all directions.

Bug fixes

• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the unique effect of the Converted Harmony Altar not taking the Teadoctor into account.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Automaton worker slot still showing the old icon instead of the new one. 
• ⚡ Fixed some overlapping text in Resolve effect tooltips. 
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with ghosts requiring the burning or spawning of cysts appearing for players without Rainpunk unlocked in the Citadel.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused Fox and Lizard icons to not be clickable in the Training Expedition panel.
• ⚡ Fixed a few outdated pieces of ghost dialogue (they were referencing requests that were no longer present in the game).
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with a handful of orders appearing in maps where they can’t be completed (like an objective to build farm fields in a map without fertile soil). 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with scouts not playing any animation when solving the Destroyed Rainpunk Foundry glade event. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with scouts not playing any animation when solving the Altar of Decay glade event.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Sealed Vault glade event having an incorrect working effect on higher difficulty levels.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with two-line order objectives sometimes cutting into other text on the HUD.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Blight Swarm Prestige modifier not being available in Training Expeditions.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with recipes in the mine displaying a one-star efficiency. They are now correctly assigned a two-star tier.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed Cornerstones like Firelink Ritual to appear in a game without any species with the need for Religion. From now on, if a need is not represented in a settlement, Cornerstones tied to it will not appear.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the ESC key to sometimes not work correctly when trying to exit the Embark View.
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect objective text displayed on the HUD for Orders based on delivering goods.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the visual FX of a completed Order to be displayed above other UI elements.
• ⚡ Removed an unnecessary dot in the tooltip header of Order objectives based on delivering goods.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed the Destroyed Rainpunk Foundry to be deleted with the destruction tool.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Herb recipe in the Greenhouse to be affected by the Leaking Cauldron working effect.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Mine missing the worker count in the Encyclopedia.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Citadel Resource icons being inconsistently ordered below upgrades in the upgrade tree.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Twitch Chat Polls sometimes breaking after caravan voting.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Twitch Chat Polls breaking after two votes were started at the same time.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Consumption Control panel having a brighter background than other full screen popups.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with ore not reappearing while moving a building placed on top of it.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Human Starting Ability showing the fertile soil marker on the edge of the map in games without any fertile soil. 
• ⚡ Fixed a wrong translation in the Korean version of the Voice of the Forest effect.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused some numbers to be obstructed and unreadable in the Japanese version of the game (like for example in the Protected Trade Cornerstone).
• ⚡ Fixed a typo in house descriptions in the Spanish version of the game.
• ⚡ Implemented multiple fixes to the Simplified Chinese version of the game (biome descriptions, some effect descriptions, order objectives, etc.).
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect translation of the Fungal Guide perk in the Ukrainian version of the game.
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with two buildings having the same name in the German version of the game (Distillery and Tinctury). Additionally, improved translations in the Embark View and the Carved in Stone perk description.
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect translation of the Procrastination effect in the Russian version of the Game. Additionally, we implemented multiple miscellaneous fixes and improvements to the localization (deeds, descriptions, perks).
• Fixed a few incorrect profession names assigned to new buildings (Distillery, Beanery, Tea House).
• Fixed an issue with female Fox villagers carrying incorrectly rotated objects.

Other 

• ⚡ Added 2 new music tracks to the Cursed Royal Woodlands (during Storm).
• Added a new officially supported language – Thai. 
• Changed the visual representation, name, and description of the Living Matter. The event (and its clone) is now called Blood Flower. This change was introduced mainly to get rid of the old Living Matter model (which was simply a particle effect) and to ground it a bit more in the game’s lore. 
• Improved overall stability and fixed a few instances of CPU crashes that occurred after the last engine update.

COMMUNITY CORNER

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