Greetings Viceroys!

Look! Up in the sky!
It’s a bird!
No, it’s a plane!
Oh, wait… It actually is a bird.
A thundering Giant Stormbird.

But the feathery beast is not the only feature coming in this update. Here’s what’s new:

• New event: Giant Stormbird
• Hearth Sarificing rework
• World Map Tutorial
• Woodcutting quality of life features
• And more!

Below you can find our design notes, the full changelog, community memes, and various announcements. If you enjoy the game, help us spread the word and let your friends know about it!

DEVELOPER NOTES

With today’s update, we continue on our path to add more polish to the game. The most notable addition is the World Map tutorial, which explains the most important aspects of the meta layer of the game. And although the experienced Viceroys among you might not need it, we hope that new players will enjoy this change and have an easier time starting their journey in Against the Storm.

World Map Tutorial

But wait, if the tutorial is the most important new feature, then why is this update called “Stormbird Update”? Well, that’s because we also have a little surprise for you – a new Glade Event! And it’s the namesake of this patch, the Giant Stormbird. It can be found in some Forbidden Glades and is extremely dangerous, but according to some Viceroys, it can be tamed and used to your advantage.

Stormbird

Another big change in this update is tied to balance. More specifically – sacrificing fuel in the Hearth. In the last couple of days, there has been a lot of discussion about the sacrifice meta (or, as some of you have lovingly called it, Fuelxodia). The tl;dr of this situation is that Resolve can basically be cheesed by having a steady supply of resources to sacrifice. Instead of engaging with systems like needs and services, it’s tempting to focus heavily on fuel and use it to carry you to victory (especially in the later stages of a game). Additionally, Resolve goes up at a faster rate than it goes down, so some crafty Viceroys have figured out a way to “cheat” the system by sacrificing goods for a few seconds each time Resolve gets dangerously low, waiting for it to rise again, and then stopping the sacrifice process until it’s low again (rinse and repeat).

And while we agree that sacrificing for Resolve is a useful tool in combating some negative modifiers, it feels more like a one-and-done solution than a deliberate choice on the player’s part. That’s why we recently released a sacrifice overhaul on the Experimental branch, and are now moving it over to the main version (after some balance adjustments inspired by your feedback). From now on, sacrificing goods will activate different buffs instead of increasing Resolve (like lowering Hostility, increasing production speed, or speeding up working times in Glade Events). With this change, we hope to add a bit more decision-making into the sacrifice mechanic, while still giving players enough tools to work with when facing difficult challenges in their settlements.

Reworked sacrificing

Lastly, let’s talk about the user experience. In this update, we implemented a LOT of improvements, and almost all of them are inspired by the community. Some notable examples are: range indicators for Glade Event explosions, camera zoom on the World Map, the ability to change the size of the tree marking brush, building removal confirmation popups, automatic Timed Order completion, and much, much more.

Avoid opening glades

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:

• 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

CHANGELOG

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by community.

New content and features

• ⚡ Added the World Map Tutorial to the game. 
  • The World Map tutorial will start automatically after beating the second tutorial game.
  • The tutorial is a sequence of dialogue boxes guiding the player through the most important elements of the meta progress layer of the game – the World Map, Citadel Resources, Upgrades, Cycles, Embark mechanics, etc.
  • With the tutorial, we also introduced a lot of UX and UI changes to make the entire meta layer of the game less confusing for new players. The exact details are listed in the UX/UI improvements section of this changelog. 
• ⚡ Added 1 new Glade Event.
  • Giant Stormbird – A never-before encountered Stormbird subspecies. She is fiercely guarding her nest. The clouds around the settlement begin to darken.
• ⚡ Added 4 new pages to the Atlas. The first two appear as “learn more” notifications once the feature tied to them has been unlocked in the Smoldering City. The rest appears right after the tutorial.
  • Factions and Influence
  • Consumption Control
  • Modifiers and Treasure
  • Useful Shortcuts
• Added 5 starter Deeds, dedicated to new players.
  • First Real Expedition – win a Normal game on the Royal Woodlands.
  • Taking Action – solve 5 Glade Events in one game.
  • Discovery 1 – discover 10 Glades.
  • Orders from the Queen 1 – complete 10 Orders.
  • Rolling in Wealth 1 – sell goods worth 50 Amber.
• Added a new type of upgrade in the Smoldering City – unlocking Factions.
  • Factions are now unlocked after buying the Pioneers’ Gate Level 4 upgrade. 
  • With the Faction unlock, you also get access to the Influence Ranking and rewards at the end of each Cycle.
  • After unlocking Factions, a “read more” alert appears on the World Map. Clicking on it will open the Atlas on the entry explaining the mechanic.

New Atlas pages

Balance

• ⚡ Reworked the Sacrifice mechanic in the Ancient Hearth. 
• Sacrificing was originally intended to be a way of combating the threats you encounter when building a settlement. And although in the beginning it worked well (it’s one of the oldest mechanics in the game), we weren’t really happy with it – mainly because it was a one-and-done solution to a variety of problems, and was easily exploited to speedrun the game. We understand that some players really like this feature in its current form, but we feel that it’s necessary to change it for the long-term health of the game (and we will keep improving it with your feedback).
• Sacrificing goods in the Ancient Hearth no longer increases Resolve. Instead, each fuel type now provides a different bonus to the settlement.

• • All sacrifices now stack up to 3 times. For example, you can sacrifice wood at a rate of 120 units per minute for a total of -150 Hostility.
  • Because of this change, all Orders and Glade Events tied to Resolve have been rebalanced (the exact details are listed below, in separate subsections of this changelog).

• ⚡ The Blightrot mechanic has been removed from Normal and Hard. Blightrot will now be present only in higher difficulties, from Very Hard upwards.
• ⚡ The Bandit Camp Modifier now also removed the Trading Post from the building roster (in addition to blocking trade).
• ⚡ Removed the Unfavorable Weather Prestige Modifier (no positive Forest Mysteries) from Prestige 16, and replaced it with Famine Outbreaks (stronger hunger penalty).
• ⚡ All recipes in the Field Kitchen have been buffed. 
  • Production times for all recipes have been decreased from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
  • Jerky now requires 8 Meat (or equivalent) instead of 10. 
  • Pickled Goods now require 8 Vegetables (or equivalent) instead of 10. 
• ⚡ Moving unconstructed movable buildings is now free.
• ⚡ Changed the way the Urban Planning Cornerstone works. Previously, it would add housing spots based on hub levels. Now, it adds 1 housing spot for every 10 completed Trade Routes. 
• ⚡ Temporarily disabled the Ancient Stabilizer Cornerstone (and its Stormforge version). It will be back once we redesign it.
• Adjusted some orders in the first and second tutorial maps (Woodcutters’ Camps, Brewing Ale, Smokehouse, First Yield). They now require the player to make goods instead of delivering them.
• Extended the time limit for all Resolve-based Timed Orders. It’s now 7 minutes instead of 4.
• Rebalanced some Resolve-based effects in Glade Events to better reflect the recent changes to the sacrifice mechanic.
  • Fallen Brethren (Fallen Villagers Glade Events) – decreased the Resolve penalty from 8/10/12/14 to 6/8/10/12.
  • Gate Presence (Dark Gate) – decreased the Resolve penalty from 8/10/12/14 to 4/6/8/10.
  • Stonetooth Swarm (Stonetooth Termite Burrow) – decreased the Resolve penalty from 7/8/9/10 to 5/6/7/8.
  • Fear of the Wilds (Small Destroyed Caravan) – decreased the Resolve penalty from 5/6/7/8 to 3/4/5/6.
  • Fear of the Wilds (Large Destroyed Caravan) – decreased the Resolve penalty from 7/8/9/10 to 5/6/7/8.
• Rebalanced multiple Orders tied to Resolve. We decided to lower their requirements across the board (with a few exceptions) and adjust the values to the sacrifice mechanic changes. 
  • The Guild – lowered the Resolve requirement from 15/19/23 to 16/18/20.
  • The Flock – lowered the Resolve requirement from 10/14/18 to 10/13/15.
  • The Clan – lowered the Resolve requirement from 10/14/18 to 10/13/15.
  • People’s Resolve – lowered the Resolve requirement from 20/24/28 to 20/22/25.
  • Joyful Beavers – changed the Resolve requirement from 15/19/23 to 18/20/22.
  • Joyful Harpies – changed the Resolve requirement from 10/14/18 to 13/15/17.
  • Joyful Humans – changed the Resolve requirement from 20/24/28 to 23/25/27.
  • Joyful Lizards – changed the Resolve requirement from 10/14/18 to 13/15/17.
  • Happy Beavers – lowered the Resolve requirement from 20/24/28 to 20/22/24.
  • Happy Harpies – lowered the Resolve requirement from 14/18/22 to 14/16/18.
  • Happy Humans – lowered the Resolve requirement from 24/28/32 to 24/26/28.
  • Happy Lizards – lowered the Resolve requirement from 14/18/22 to 14/16/18.
  • Beaver Resolve – lowered the Resolve requirement from 24/28/32 to 22/26/30.
  • Harpy Resolve – lowered the Resolve requirement from 18/22/26 to 16/20/24.
  • Human Resolve – lowered the Resolve requirement from 28/32/36 to 26/30/34.
  • Lizard Resolve – lowered the Resolve requirement from 18/22/26 to 16/20/24.
• The Prestige Modifier Hearth Defect sacrifice rate penalty has been decreased from 50% to 35%.
• Crystalized Dew recipe now requires an additional type of good: Oil or Pigment. Oil has been replaced by Vegetables in the main ingredient slot.
• Reshuffled some upgrades in the Smoldering City.
  • Pioneers’ Gate Level 1 – removed the Clay and Stone Embark Bonuses, added +1 Embark Points instead. 
  • Pioneers’ Gate Level 4 – removed +1 Embark Point, added Factions Unlock instead. 
  • Brass Forge Level 1 – removed Carrying Capacity +1, added Clay and Stone Embark Bonuses instead.
• Rebalanced all effects and perks influencing working time in Glade Events.
  • All effects of this type now work differently. Previously, they simply increased or decreased an Event’s working time, but now they change the speed at which Scouts are working.
  • This change might be confusing and probably seems like just a wording issue, so here’s the math (on a hypothetical effect with a 20% reduction to a 240 seconds-long working time):
    • Previously: 240 * 0,8 = 192 seconds
    • Now: 240 * (1/1,2) = 200 seconds
  • As you can see, the difference isn’t that big, but the crucial part is how we apply the percentage to the working time. Thanks to the new approach, we can allow for 200% or even 300% changes to working time, without having to worry about ever hitting 0 seconds. Of course, the higher the value, the more diminishing returns you’ll get, but it’s still better than clamping at 10% after getting just three or four perks. 
  • Experienced Scout – Scouts now work 40% faster instead of 30% faster.
  • Procrastination – Scouts now work 33% slower instead of 50% slower.
  • Profitable Caution – Scouts now work 33% slower instead of 50% slower.
  • Firekeeper’s Prayer – Scouts now work 30% faster instead of 25% faster.
• Increased the requirements for some early Deeds.
  • Orders from the Queen 2 – now requires finishing 30 Orders instead of 20. 
  • Discovery 2 – now requires discovering 30 Glades instead of 20. 

Remove node notification

UX/UI improvements

• ⚡ Added the option to change the camera zoom in the World Map.
• ⚡ Added a way to open the Deeds window when building a settlement. Simply press ESC and click on the “deed” button in the pause menu. 
• ⚡ Improved the accuracy of the tree marking brush.
• ⚡ Added two new modes to the tree marking brush:
  • Holding ALT will ignore trees at the edges of undiscovered Glades.
  • Holding SHIFT will shrink the brush considerably.
• ⚡ Added time indicators to recipes in Gathering Camps.
• ⚡ Extended the Resolve tooltip’s hitbox to the entire Resolve bar next to a species’ portrait. 
• ⚡ Added a button “navigate to building” button in the Recipes Panel. Clicking it moves the camera to the selected building and opens up its UI panel.
• ⚡ Added a “Conditions” tooltip to the Reputation Bonus window. Now when choosing a new Blueprint, you will be able to see what resources are normally available on your map. 
• ⚡ Added a range indicator to exploding Glade Events (for example: Open Vault, Rainpunk Foundry). To see the range, simply hover over the explosion effect icon in the Event’s UI panel. 
• ⚡ Added grayed-out HUD icons for features the player hasn’t yet unlocked (Consumption Control, Trade Routes). When hovering over them, a tooltip will inform you about the exact upgrade you need to buy in order to unlock the feature. 
• ⚡ Added a suffix to all service building effects to avoid confusion: “(Same service building effects do not stack)”.
• ⚡ Trying to remove a building will now display a confirmation popup first. The building will only be destroyed if you select “yes”. Removing Gathering Camps, Shelters, Decorations, and Roads won’t display the popup.
• ⚡ Added removal confirmation popup to resource nodes.
• ⚡ Added an “Avoid opening Glades” option to the Woodcutters’ Camp. Toggling it on will prevent Woodcutters from discovering Glades on their own. There is also a checkbox in the options menu to keep this toggle on by default. 
• ⚡ Added a “storage” panel to Glade Events. It is now possible to see how many items are left to be collected by Scouts after finishing an Event.
• ⚡ Added tooltips to the Embark Screen. One informs about Embark Points, and the other about Embark Bonuses. 
• ⚡ Timed Orders will now be automatically completed if the requirement is met when the time runs out. This can be turned off in the options menu.
• ⚡ Added indicators for off-screen resource nodes when selecting, placing, or moving Gathering Camps. 
• ⚡ Updated and improved Forest Mystery tooltips.
  • There is now a clearer division of information on the tooltip. 
  • Added a separate section describing when an effect triggers (in regards to Hostility and season). 
  • After clicking on a Forest Mystery, the player will be taken to the Atlas (to an entry about Forest Mysteries). There’s also a “click to learn more” hint at the bottom of the tooltip.
• ⚡ Added a “click to learn more” footnote to the Hostility of the Forest tooltip. Clicking the Hostility icon will now open up the Atlas on the entry explaining the mechanic. 
• ⚡ Added a tooltip to Treasure Chests found on the World Map, explaining what chests are and how to collect them.
• ⚡ Increased the speed at which tutorial texts appear. 
• ⚡ Added a difficulty preview to the Embark Screen, in the form of a magnifying glass icon next to the difficulty dropdown menu. Hovering over this icon will display a tooltip detailing the selected difficulty level. 
• ⚡ Added a tooltip to the Deed tracking checkbox.
• ⚡ Changed the icon symbolizing builders on the species HUD. 
• Changed the wording in the tooltip displayed when hovering over the builder icon on the species panel – from “free workers” to “builders (free workers)”.
• Added an explanatory tooltip to the hub section in the Hearth’s UI panel.
• Alerts and notifications displayed on the HUD have been updated.
  • All alerts are now smaller.
  • Most texts have been shortened. To get more details, simply hover over the alert and read the tooltip. 
  • Alerts now have different background colors and icons attached to them to make it possible to differentiate them at a glance. 
• All descriptions for buffs and debuffs triggered by conditional Forest Mysteries (like Fading, Energized, Distracted, etc.) have been updated to better reflect their effects.
• Added a new filter to the Deed panel – Recommended. This filter tries to sort Deeds in a more curated order, trying to guide the player. It’s the default sorting order when opening the Deeds window and is mostly dedicated to newer players. 
• Any mention of Trade Routes in World Map has been hidden for players who haven’t yet unlocked the feature in the Smoldering City.

New notifications

Bug fixes

• ⚡ Fixed a bug that made it impossible to buy Stormforged Cornerstones in the Forsaken Altar if all species were deselected (in the “pay with blood” section).
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Stormforged version of the Generous Gift Cornerstone not working correctly. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Rainpunk Drills Cornerstone not working at all.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that made it possible for two Makeshift Hearths radiuses to overlap if one of them was still under construction. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with Trade Route Orders being generated even if there are no towns nearby with which the player can trade. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with repaired destroyed buildings counting as completed Glade Events in Orders and perks.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Wildcard building tooltip staying on screen after using ESC to close the window. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Forbidden Lands Modifier being generated near the Marshlands on the World Map.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Rebellious Spirit Cornerstone stacking incorrectly.
• ⚡ Fixed numerous incorrect texts in the Italian translation. 
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Recipe Highlight showing all possible recipes in the Mine (even if it is placed on top of just one type of ore).  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the initial conditions popup not having enough slots for more than 20 effects and modifiers. 
• ⚡ Improved the wording on the “need consumption on by default” setting in the options menu. 
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Villager UI panel not scaling with the number of perks assigned to a unit.
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Metallurgic Proficiency Cornerstone not affecting Parts creation. 
• Fixed a bug with the missing Atlas entry about the Blightrot mechanic.
• Fixed an issue with Faction borders not being hidden when the Blighstorm animation is playing.
• Fixed a bug with the Voice of the Sealed Ones projectile animation stopping right before hitting a villager.
• Fixed an issue with the Forsaken Altar offering duplicates. 
• Fixed incorrect labels in some Cornerstone tooltips.
• Fixed a visual glitch with the Fertile Grounds Modifier’s 3d model.

Other

• Removed the Camera Sprint function – for us, this was just a dead feature not many players knew about, and the function was by itself not very useful.
• Improved map generation in the first and second tutorial games.
• Updated icons in the Equality and Profitable Caution Cornerstones.

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.

ANNOUCEMENTS

GAMESCOM

We’re coming to gamescom 2022!

We’ll be in Hall 10.2 at F-011G booth together with Hooded Horse ready to welcome you and chat about Against the Storm.

If you plan to attend, come say hi!

AUDIO DEEP DIVE

Watch our audio deep dive to discover the process of creating the music and sounds for Against the Storm. It’s a story about dealing with limits, overcoming obstacles, and… whistling in the kitchen?

This talk originally premiered during Save & Sound 2022 festival.

COMMUNITY CORNER

Let’s begin with a huge round of applause for bubbles who is creating an Against the Storm data wiki that might really interest you: https://bubbleagainstthestorm.github.io/data-wiki/buildings/.

You may want to bookmark it in your browser.

The last couple of days were extremely fruitful when it comes to community memes. It would be a shame not to put a spotlight on them. Let’s begin, shall we?

By bubbles.

Eremite Games: releases updates every second Thursday between 1pm and 3pm UTC.
Players: update when?

By Theoes.

By Theoes.

By Theoes.

If there was anything good about Fuelxodia, it would be memes.

By Jhazrun.

By DeviousRogue.

By bubbles.

Yo Vicedawg, I heard you like forests, so let me put some Hostility of the Forest in your glades.

By DeviousRogue.

By Jhazrun.

No offense Jhazrun, we all love you, but Russano has a point:

By Russano.

Wait, there are even more memes? Bring them on!

By olegolas_1983.

By Dérwish.

By bubbles.

By Travis.

By bubbles.

I will tell my kids Beevers existed and this is how they looked like.

Thank you all for making us laugh! It’s a fine getaway from all the Viceroy troubles.

By DeviousRogue.

CONTINUE READING...