Greetings Viceroys!

It’s new-update o’clock already, so without further ado, here’s what we prepared for you:

• Wildcards
• Increased game duration
• World Map tweaks
• And more!

And if you ever wondered how those update notes would look as a Spotify playlist, we got you covered:

Continue reading for our design notes and the full changelog. And if you enjoy the game, do us a great favor and let your friends know about it!

DEVELOPER NOTES

In the Blight Fighter Update notes we hinted that the next couple of weeks would be mostly focused on UX, balance, tutorials, quality of life, and the overall polish. And so this is the first of such updates – in which we bring you improvements to the UI, a bit of meta balance, graphical updates to the World Map, Blightstorm animation, a highly requested new type of Cornerstone (wildcards), and more. This shift in focus doesn’t mean we won’t change game mechanics or add new content in the future, but we’re simply getting ready for the Steam release in Q4 2022.

So let’s talk a bit more about what this update brings. First off – wildcards. This is a new type of Cornerstone, which will allow you to choose any blueprint you want. Although wildcards are pretty rare, they can be given to you by the Queen (as a yearly Cornerstone), bought from some traders, or acquired in the Forsaken Altar. Once a wildcard is picked up, it will add a new blueprint selection charge on the crown icon next to the Reputation bar (same as with blueprints for Reputation points).

Wildcard window.

Secondly – World Map improvements. We really wanted to go back to this system after we initially revamped it, mostly to improve the balance, UI, and its overall graphical presentation. Almost all of these changes were inspired by your feedback, so you might be pleased to read that, for example, we finally added a proper Blightstorm animation at the end of each Cycle, overhauled the map’s terrain to blend tiles seamlessly (and added a togglable grid), changed the World Map cursor, or rebalanced Citadel Resources.

World Map tweaks.

Our goal here was to eliminate the pain points reported by the community, as well as make the map more accessible to new players (especially because we’re working on the World Map tutorial right now behind the scenes). We also wanted to bring back a bit of the flavor of the old map for all those players who didn’t like the rigid separation of map tiles (the grid can now be turned on or off in the settings). The World Map grid will be enabled for all players who played Against the Storm before today’s update and disabled by default for new players. You can change it anytime in the Settings. We also toned down the colors of biomes so that the tiles look more naturally next to each other.

World Map grid: on/off.

And lastly, this update also brings a lot of balance changes. Most notably – a longer game duration. There was a lot of discussion about this in our Discord server lately, mostly about how the game seems to be over too quickly, and that players rarely get to enjoy their fully developed towns. We have to agree here – over the course of the last 20 updates, the game’s systems have become more and more complex, and we have added a lot of ways to win, but the time limit stayed mostly the same (12 Reputation Points). So with today’s update, we changed the win condition to 14 Reputation Points (18 in Prestige games), spaced out blueprints and orders a bit better, and slowed down Reputation growth from Resolve. With these changes, we hope that the endgame will become more satisfying (and maybe a bit more challenging).

As always – we hope you enjoy these new additions. Let us know what you think about them (Discord might be the best place for that). And if there are any features you’d like us to consider in the future, create a suggestion via our official feedback tool and vote for other ideas that matter to you.

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

CHANGELOG

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by community.

New content and features

• ⚡ Added a new type of Cornerstone – the Wildcard. Upon pickup, this perk will allow the player to choose any blueprint they want (from all unlocked blueprints).
  • For now, there are three instances of this perk: Smuggler’s Visit (yearly Cornerstone), Contraband (rare perk sold by some traders), and Summoned Smuggler (Stormforged perk sold by the Forsaken Priestess in the Altar).
  • Upon pickup, the player is given a Wildcard charge. This looks just like a normal blueprint pick on the HUD and is activated by clicking the crown icon next to the Reputation Bar.
  • Wildcard blueprints are brought to the settlement by a special new NPC – the Smuggler. Can you guess who this character is based on?
• Added 2 new Cornerstones.
  • Precious Antiques – You signed a special agreement with the Guild. Traders will have 1 more Cornerstone for sale, but Travel Cost in Trade Routes is increased by 1.
  • Queen’s Gift – A mysterious Amber orb with a magical flame trapped in it. Gain +50 to the Ancient Hearth’s resistance for every Impatience Point you have.

Balance

• ⚡ Increased the game’s duration (both on lower difficulties and in Prestige runs).
  • Games from Normal to Impossible now require 14 Reputation Points.
  • Games from Prestige 1 to 20 now require 18 Reputation Points.
  • All games (regardless of difficulty) now have an Impatience limit of 14 points.
  • The speed at which high Resolve generates Reputation is ~35% slower.
  • Adjusted building choices based on the new Reputation thresholds. The blueprint from the 6th point was moved to the 7th, and the subsequent choices were spaced out by more evenly.
  • Due to this change, every game will now award ~16% more experience points. 
• ⚡ Rebalanced all effects and perks influencing resource sacrifice in the Hearth.
  • All effects of this type now work differently. Previously, they lowered the sacrifice cost, and now they prolong the burning time of sacrificed goods. 
  • This change was done to prevent exploits and balance issues (as it was easy to get very close to almost 0 sacrifice cost).
  • Sacrament of the Flame – There could be nothing more sacred than a flame in a world soaked in rain. Goods sacrificed in the Ancient Hearth burn 25% longer. 
  • Hearth Defect – The Ancient Hearth seems to have a defect. No matter how hard the Firekeeper tries, sacrificed resources burn 50% shorter. 
  • Fiery Wrath – Resources you sacrifice in the Ancient Hearth burn 3% longer for every Impatience Point you have.
  • Firekeeper’s Secret Techniques (Stormforged) – An old manuscript detailing forgotten burning rites. Fuel burns 33% longer in Hearths. Resources you sacrifice in the Ancient Hearth burn 25% longer. 
  • Firekeeper’s Prayer – Time spent working on Glade Events is decreased by 25%, but resources you sacrifice in the Ancient Hearth burn 25% shorter.
• ⚡ Rebalanced Upgrade prices in the Citadel. Some of you correctly noted that there was a certain imbalance in how many Artifacts are available, and how much they are needed to progress through the game. We decided to correct that. The overall sum of resources needed has not changed (+/- 3%), but the types of resources needed are now spread more evenly and fairly.

• ⚡ Rebalanced some World Map Modifiers – how often they spawn, how many resources they give, and how far from the Citadel they can appear. 
  • Ruined Settlement – increased rewards from 2 to 3 Machinery. 
  • Haunted Forest – increased the spawn chance. 
  • Statue of the Forefathers – increased rewards from 3 Machinery and 3 Artifacts to 4 Machinery and 4 Artifacts.
  • Ruined Armory – increased rewards from 2 to 3 Machinery.
  • Forsaken Gods Temple – increased rewards from 2 to 4 Artifacts. Also increased the spawn chance, and lowered the minimum distance from the Smoldering City. 
• ⚡ The Consumption Control Upgrade was moved from Obsidian Archive Level 6 to Obsidian Archive Level 3. 
• ⚡ Rebalanced the objectives and rewards for numerous Orders.
  • Utopia – lowered the amount of required simultaneous Skewer needs to 14/18/22.
  • Cleanliness – lowered the amount of required Cleanliness needs to 80/80/120. 
  • Luxury – lowered the amount of required Luxury needs to 80/80/120.
  • Serving the People – lowered the amount of required needs (Pie, Jerky, Skewers) to 70/70/80.
  • Folks gotta eat! – lowered the amount of required simultaneous needs (PIe, Biscuits, Jerky) to 12/16/20.
  • Trade Baron – lowered the amount of required Trade Routes to 12/14/16.
  • Religion – lowered the amount of required Religion needs to 80/80/120.
  • Pastries  – lowered the amount of required needs (Pie, Biscuits, Jerky) to 60/80/80.
  • Serving Ale – lowered the amount of required Leisure needs to 50/50/80.
  • Distant Journey – increased the time limit from 2 minutes to 3 minutes. 
  • Housing Estate – increased the time limit from 2 minutes to 2 minutes 30 seconds. 
  • Reckless Viceroy – decreased the time limit from 20 minutes to 18 minutes. 
  • Quick Packaging – increased the amount of Amber rewarded for this Order to 15.
  • Outpost – removed the Light Timber Cornerstone from the Order rewards and added 10 Parts instead.
  • Great Expansion – changed the Order’s objective to “have 3 hubs at level: Neighborhood” (previously: “have 5 Makeshift Hearths and 5 Storages”).
  • Wealthy Trader – removed the Tavern Blueprint from the Order rewards and adde the Vegetable Delivery Line Cornerstone.
  • Thirsty Trader – removed Trade Pack Instructions Cornerstone from the Order rewards and added the Protected Trade Cornerstone. Also increased the amount of Crystalized Dew from 25 to 30.
  • Urgent Shipment – increased the time limit from 5 minutes to 5 minutes 30 seconds. Increased the amount of Pickled Goods rewarder for this Order from 40 to 60. 
  • Bling-Bling – increased the amount of Parts rewarded for this Order from 10 to 12. Also changed the +2 production perks (Jerky, Pie) to +3 bonuses. 
• ⚡ Added the option to pay extra Citadel Resources instead of villagers’ lives in the Forsaken Altar.
• ⚡ Removed the moving block from the Blight Infection effect. Buildings with one Blightrot Cyst will now be movable (but still can’t be destroyed). 
• ⚡ Hearts are no longer movable with the Levitating Monument modifier. 
• ⚡ The remaining time after picking a Timed Order will now be added to the time limit of the Timed Order’s objective.
• ⚡ Slightly increased the trading value of all Packs in the game. Now even the lowest tier recipe will result in a value increase when making packs. 
• ⚡ Makeshift Hearths can no longer be destroyed by lightning during the Storm. 
• The Sacrificial Flames Upgrades in the Smoldering City now give a 5% bonus to the burning time of resources sacrificed in the Ancient Hearth (instead of the previous 10%).
• Changed the Ale recipe tier in the Scribe from 1 star to 2 stars.
• The Cheap Construction Cornerstone now reduces construction cost by 40% instead of 33% (and the Stormforged version reduces cost by 50%).

UX/UI improvements

• ⚡ Changed the World Map cursor.
  • It’s no longer a big red cross, but a less distracting flame effect instead. The trail behind the cursor is now also in 2D.
  • The field highlight around the cursor is no also a bit less pronounced. 
• ⚡ Added the option to turn on/off the World Map grid in Settings.
• ⚡ Improved the way stockpiles fuel is displayed in Hydrants and Blight Posts.
  • This section of the UI is no longer called “stockpile”, but “fuel reserves” instead.
  • There is now an “i” icon next to the UI. Hovering over it will display a tooltip describing the purpose of the fuel reserves panel. 
  • There is now a “fuel / cysts” text underneath the fuel bar to better illustrate the meaning of this UI element. 
• ⚡ Added additional information to the Atlas about how burned Cysts remove Corruption.
• ⚡ Improved the way resources are displayed for each biome (in the Embark Window and under the ESC menu). 
  • The resource summary is now divided into “natural resources” and “trees”.
  • The arrow icons on the resources were removed, as they were causing more confusion than helping.
• ⚡ Rebuilt ruins are now taken into account by the recipe comparison tooltip when selecting new blueprints.
• ⚡ Added an alert that appears when a Timed Order is ready to be completed. 
• ⚡ Added an alert to flooding events – for example when a Rain Spirit Totem triggers and removes all roads in the settlement. 
• ⚡ Added the option to prioritize construction for roads and farm fields (they can now be selected like all other construction sites).
• ⚡ Added the option to set a construction priority to all buildings of a given type (e.g. all paths) by holding Shift when pressing the +/- arrow buttons in the building’s UI.
• ⚡ Improved the wording in the Looming Darkness effect (the default Storm penalty). Replaced the phrase “stacks with Hostility” with “multiplies with Hostility level”.
• ⚡ The Metalurgic Proficiency Cornerstone (and its Stormforged version) now influences Coal mining times.
• Refreshed some loading tips to better reflect the current state of the game. 
• Added frames around Citadel Resources visible above tiles on the World Map. 
• Temporarily disabled the Urban Planning Cornerstone. We have to redesign it to avoid exploits/unwanted effect loops.
• Changed the magnifying glass icon on the News Panel in the main menu.

Bug fixes

• ⚡ Fixed a bug with effects influencing Glade Event working times overflowing and halting the process completely.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with negative Amber numbers in the Trading Post (after buying a perk when Amber was selected for barter). 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the player to be able to open reward chests belonging to other Factions. It’s now only possible to open a chest that is in the Embark Range of a player town.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with roads being possible to build outside of the playable space in a map. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Forge Trip Hammer Cornerstone appearing in games where the Crude Workstation is disabled (in Daily Expeditions). 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with all hub effects being named “Encampment”.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with camp effects and perks not influencing the Harvesters’ Camp production speed.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with Orders requiring a certain Standing not taking already gained levels into account.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Monastery of the Holy Flame modifier forbidding the consumption of complex food and services by default.
• ⚡ Updated descriptions for some Cornerstones describing the Great Civil War (like Beaver Clan Support) to better reflect the state of the game’s lore (taking into account more species than just three.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with repeating random village names on the World Map. 
• ⚡ Improved the wording in alerts informing about buildings destroyed by lightning during a Storm. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Bed and Breakfast Cornerstone appearing in games with a Trade Block modifier. 
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect name in the Rainpunk Foundry Glade Event (Decaying Matter instead of Living Matter).
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with Orders requiring Dangerous Glade discovery being drawn in maps with only Forbidden Glades (and vice versa).
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with small Clay deposits not dropping Copper Ore. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Equality Cornerstone to appear in games with modifiers disabling Consumption Control.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused Cornerstones influencing rerolls being offered to the player even if they haven’t yet unlocked this feature. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that prevented empty housing slots to be visible in the “available” section in the species resolve panel.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with both the Scavengers’ Camp and Harvesters’ Camp being called the same in German.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused Cyst sounds to be played without any Blightrot Cysts present. 
• Fixed a bug that caused the Corruption sound effect to be played randomly (without any Corruption going on in the Hearth).
• Fixed some missing UI frames around certain Cornerstones/modifier effects.

Blightstorm animation.

Other

• ⚡ Graphically updated and improved the World Map.
• Added the Blightstorm. Now, after finishing a Cycle, you will be able to see how the devastating power of the Storm consumes the world. 
• All World Map tiles are now blended. There is no longer a gap between them, and biome terrains/colors are smoothly connected (you can also turn the World Map grid on or off).
• Updated textures for all modifiers on the World Map. They should now be of a higher quality and look a lot more natural.
• Updated the models for some modifiers on the World Map: Levitating Monument, Corrosive Torrent, Fertile Grounds.
• Changed the model and texture for all towns on the World Map.
• Updated textures for reward chests found on the World Map. 
• Added visual effects highlighting reward chests and modifiers on the World Map.
• Updated all cloud and fog effects on the World Map. 
• Graphically improved the “?” symbols on the map.
• Changed the look of faction borders on the World Map. 
• Changed the look of faction markers on the World Map.
• Removed some social media icons from the main menu.

We want to thank you for all your contributions to this update. Your translations, suggestions, and reports are extremely appreciated! You can always track the progress of reported issues on our Public Bug Tracker.

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