For those of you curious about what's changed since alpha, here's a list:
- Most of the graphics including the terrain and all buildings have been redone.
- Buildings can now be stacked atop each other or built on the water, forming multi-storey complexes.
- You can create custom maps using the built-in map editor.
- The game features three totally new maps.
- The path finding algorithm has been replaced, which fixed a lot of the old pathing bugs and improved performance.
- We significantly increased the tempo of the early game, most stats have been rebalanced.
- Laborers now work in Labor houses and Labor flags, unemployed beavers do nothing.
- Forester can now automatically mark mature trees for cutting.
- Homeless beavers set up sleeping mats on the street.
- Laborers and Haulers automatically distribute goods throughout the settlement. The process can be controlled by setting “desired amounts” in warehouses which replaces “stockpile limits”.
- Paper can be used to produce Books which satisfy Knowledge.
- Wooden paths are replaced with free dirt paths.
- Workplaces and homes now have a limited range that can be extended by building paths.
- Power can be connected to a building from (almost) any direction. Adjacent buildings form clusters which share power.
- Scaffolding can be walked on and can support almost any building.
- Twigs from Birches have been replaced with Berries produced by the newly added Blueberry bush.
- The load save and load map screens feature a handy “Browse directory” button which opens the File Explorer.
- Most warning icons are now grouped in an alert panel in the bottom left corner.
- You can locate unemployed beavers using one of the new alerts.
- After selecting a house, you can assign a dweller to move in.
- Homes can be paused, causing dwellers to move out and seek new shelter.
- The maximum height of a map has been increased from 9 to 16.
- The map file format has changed, but it should be relatively easy to convert any existing map generators or editors. Talk to our team if you need help.
- Finishing a building requires a small amount of a Laborer’s time in addition to materials.
- We’ve added a lot of new sounds.
- Many, many bug fixes and performance optimizations.
And here's a couple of features that have been added during the beta:
- We added Preview Building Mode: When you place a new building or select a construction site, you see gray previews of the unfinished structures. You can now place a new construction on top of unfinished buildings. That effectively allows you to design whole complexes of buildings before you spend any materials or your beavers' precious time.
- We added a Population wellbeing panel which gives you a high-level overview of how you're doing in terms of satisfying your beavers' needs. You can access the panel by clicking the average wellbeing counter in the top-left corner.
- The game now warns you if something is obstructing the entrance of the building that you are placing or if the building will obstruct another building's entrance.
- Added a welcome popup explaining the current status of the game.
- The walking range of all buildings has been increased by 10%.
- Stairs now extend the walking range by the same amount as flat paths. That makes vertical structures more efficient space-wise.
- Also many, many bug fixes.
Thank you to all our wonderful beta players for the invaluable feedback. We couldn't have done it without you!