Greetings, Viceroys!
The holiday season is almost here, and we’re not coming empty-handed. We’ve just released the Elder Update (1.6), which introduces:
- 3 new World Events (including one made in collaboration with dotAGE)
- A revamp and rebalance of World Events
- 3 new buildings for World Events
- And more!
But that’s not all — you can now find the Beaver Villager in dotAGE!
Read on for more details about the collaboration, the full changelog with notes, and important information about settlement saves.
Important: Due to numerous systemic changes, the update will close ongoing settlements to prevent potential issues. As compensation, you’ll receive Citadel Resources equivalent to winning that game, along with a Royal Resupply. Your Cycle progress and meta progress will remain intact. If you’re eager to finish your current settlement, you can temporarily access a special Steam branch with version 1.5. Details on how to do this can be found at the end of the update notes. However, we recommend using this option only as a last resort.
P.S. The Seam Winter Sale is live now and you can get Against the Storm and the Keepers of the Stone DLC on a discount and in the Complete Edition bundle:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/45551/Against_the_Storm_Complete/
dotAGE x Against the Storm
The titular Elder from today’s update is a VIP character from dotAGE who makes an appearance in Against the Storm as a new World Event.
In this event, you’ll either need to prepare for impending doom or prove to the Elder that his forest is safe. Succeeding in the latter will reward you with a purring companion for the next three games in the Cycle. This companion provides a resolve boost and reacts to petting via cursor clicks.
Meanwhile, in dotAGE, you can now encounter new events featuring a Beaver VIP and help him secure safe passage into your town!
To celebrate the cooperation, we’ve also released a time-limited bundle, available for the duration of the Steam Winter Sale (until January 2). The bundle allows you to purchase both games — or pick up the one you’re missing — at an additional discount.
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/48344/
DEVELOPER NOTES
Today's update is a bit smaller than usual, but it still introduces some exciting new content. Most notably, we’re adding three new world map events and are revamping several of the existing ones. Alongside this, we’re rebalancing a number of perks, improving the UI in a few places, and (as always) fixing bugs. So without further ado, let’s dive into the details.
First up, the new world events. As you may have seen in the intro to this article, we’re collaborating with dotAge - another amazing roguelite city builder. In fact one of the new events, the First Elder, is directly inspired by Matus from dotAge. This event also introduces a special reward for solving it: a cat ally who will stay with you for 3 games, increasing both the Resolve and crit chance of your villagers.
In addition to the First Elder, we’re adding two other world events: the Blight-Ridden Viceroy and the Ghost Town. To learn more about their lore, the decisions you can make when solving them, and their rewards, be sure to check out the full changelog below.
This update also brings much-needed balance changes to a lot of the already existing world events - and these aren’t just minor numerical tweaks, but go as far as completely reworking some of them. For example, in the Somber Procession event, players will no longer have the option to give away 3 Reserve Embarkation Points. Instead, they’ll be tasked with hosting a Funeral Feast (win a game after solving the three-part Funeral Feast event). In return, they’ll receive a service building for the next 3 games - the Feast Hall.
Our goal with these changes was to make world events more exciting and varied, while experimenting with some unique new mechanics. At the same time, we wanted to address common concerns, such as the lack of control and feedback in events that require certain goods at the end of the game. Previously, these goods could be unexpectedly consumed by production, rain engines, or other mechanics, causing players to fail the event without really knowing why. To fix this, we've changed these events to trigger an upfront payment instead. This change makes it much easier to track progress and control the exact moment when you complete an event.
Another example is the new Forsaken Town event added in 1.5. Its tuning felt a bit unfair at times, so we decided to rebalance it (for example, you will no longer start the game during the Storm).
World events aren’t the only focus of this update. We also took a closer look at Cornerstones, buffing and revamping some of the weaker ones, and removing those that didn’t offer any satisfying synergies. Additionally, we slightly improved the way Cornerstones are drawn in each game to make more of them match the resources and needs present in a specific run.
In the near future, we’re planning on doing a bigger Cornerstone rebalance - not just by boosting the numbers on weaker perks, but also by reworking some effects entirely and fine-tuning certain underlying game systems. We also aim to expand the new perk-drawing system to include effects from traders, as well as rewards from events and orders. That said, we’re approaching these changes a bit slower and with more caution, because we want to avoid making the game too linear or predictable. Our ultimate goal is to reduce useless rolls and rewards while staying true to the “play the hand you are dealt” philosophy that defines Against the Storm.
For more insights and information, you can check the recording of our recent livestream:
Finally, as with every update, there are a number of UI improvements - mainly text tweaks this time - and bug fixes, mostly related to some issues with the new DLC biome.
Many of these changes came directly from your feedback and reviews, showing how much your input helps shape the game. Please continue sharing your feedback and thoughts -- we're listening!
Happy Holidays
As the year comes to a close, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for an incredible 2024. It’s been a joy to deliver new updates for the game and to develop it with your invaluable support.
We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a cheerful New Year! We’re excited for what’s to come in 2025 — with more content on the horizon for Against the Storm!
May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games
UPDATE 1.6 CHANGELOG
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
Changes marked with 🐸 are related to the Against the Storm: Keepers of the Stone DLC.
New content and features
- ⚡ Added three new World Map Events.
- First Elder - As your villagers clear the ground for the new settlement, an old man emerges from the forest, waving his cane at you. A peculiar cat follows close behind. "Beware, fool!" the man cries. "Doom is coming soon! It will break your people's resolve and crush you! Prepare, or it will be the end of you!"
- Prepare for impending doom - win the game before year 7 ends, after fulfilling 200 needs from the Services category. If you succeed, all your starting caravans will gain 12 Pack of Provisions for the duration of this cycle.
- Prove the forest is safe - Win the game after discovering 2 Dangerous or Forbidden Glades in the first year. If you do, a peculiar ally will join your caravan, adding 2 to Global Resolve and increasing your workers' chance of producing double yields by 5% (for 3 games).
- Blight-ridden Viceroy - As your caravan crosses one of the kingdom's many nameless rivers, you encounter a hideous creature. Were it not for the tattered remains of a viceroy's uniform, you might mistake it for another child of the forest. Afflicted with Blightrot, it must have been cast out by its own people. It shuffles slowly toward you, begging for the chance to serve its beloved Queen one last time.
- Accept its help - win a game with the Blight-ridden Viceroy effect (2 Blightrot Cysts appear every 45 raw and complex food produced). If you do, all your starting caravans will get 20 Pipes for the duration of this cycle.
- Let it rest - give away your Tarnished Necklace and you will receive a Zitan Box for the rest of this cycle: At the beginning of Clearance in year 2, a mysterious box will arrive in your settlement.
- Ghost Town - As you step out of the dense forest onto a vast, desolate plain, an eerie sight greets you - a ruined town shrouded in thick, clinging fog. In the distance, ghastly figures drift aimlessly along the horizon, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a few of them approach you. A distorted, echoing voice fills the air, recounting a grim tale of despair - a famine born of the Merchant Guild's insatiable greed.
- Punish the Guild - Win before year 8 ends, after attacking at least 3 traders. If you succeed, the cost of calling traders to your settlement will be reduced by 0.25 for the duration of this cycle.
- Join the hunt - Win the game after catching the Spectral Treasure Stag on time. It will appear next to the Ancient Hearth and flee to the farthest Dangerous or Forbidden Glade possible (it will stay there much longer than stags normally do). If you catch the stag and complete the settlement, all your starting caravans will get 10 Fabric for the duration of this cycle.
- First Elder - As your villagers clear the ground for the new settlement, an old man emerges from the forest, waving his cane at you. A peculiar cat follows close behind. "Beware, fool!" the man cries. "Doom is coming soon! It will break your people's resolve and crush you! Prepare, or it will be the end of you!"
- Added 3 new event-only buildings.
- Flame Altar - a support building similar to the Beacon Tower in the Sealed Forest. Given to players for completing one of the options of the Cloaked Wanderer World Map Event. It has two tiers of abilities, each with 3 effects.
- Offerings (2 uses per game)
- Gift of Fish - Gain 35 Fish.
- Gift of Salt - Gain 35 Salt.
- Gift of Gathering - All gathering camps produce +100% more goods for the duration of this season.
- Prayers (2 uses per game)
- Prayer of Protection - Hostility is decreased by 100 for the duration of this season.
- Prayer of Perseverance - The Ancient Hearth's resistance to corruption is increased by 1000 for the duration of this season.
- Prayer of Courage - Scouts work 50% faster on Glade Events for the duration of this season.
- Offerings (2 uses per game)
- Feast Hall - a service building where villagers can fulfill the need for Treatment and Brawling. Given to players for completing one of the options of the Somber Procession World Map Event. It has one passive effect when staffed with 3 workers.
- Festive Mood - Villagers with their need for species-specific housing met will get an additional +2 to Resolve.
- Field Engineering Station - a production building used to produce Enriched Fuel for the Crashed Airship World Map Event.
- Enriched Fuel - Charged rainwater. A volatile substance essential to powering advanced machinery. Made by combining rainwater and regular fuel.
- Flame Altar - a support building similar to the Beacon Tower in the Sealed Forest. Given to players for completing one of the options of the Cloaked Wanderer World Map Event. It has two tiers of abilities, each with 3 effects.
Balance
- ⚡ All World Map Events that require players to “win while having X amount of a given resource” have been redesigned. They now use the payment system.
- For example, in version 1.5, the Bankrupt Trader event would ask you to win a game with 250 Amber in your warehouse by year 8. In version 1.6, you will start the game with a pending payment of 250 Amber, to be paid before the end of year 8.
- This change should make it more obvious what the goal of the event is, and make it clearer when you have achieved it or failed.
- ⚡ Rebalanced and revamped several World Map Events.
- Bankrupt Trader - both “win with Amber” options are now payments. The first option now requires 100 Amber before year 10 ends, instead of 150 Amber with no time limit.
- Brass Order Engineers - increased the time limit in the second option (upgrade 3 Hearths) from 9 years to 10. Increased the reward from 15 Crystalized Dew to 20.
- Cloaked Wanderer - removed the first option entirely (give the Wanderer 2 Wildfire Essences for 5 Seal Fragments), and replaced it with a new one:
- Convince him - Start the game here with one Blood Flower clone in your settlement. Win while having at least 3 Blood Flower clones by the end, and you'll earn the Flame Altar blueprint - a powerful building that grants temporary blessings for your next 3 games.
- Crashed Airship - removed both options entirely (win with 300 Storm Water; give away 3 Parts) and replaced them with new ones:
- Provide fuel - Win the game after delivering 25 Enriched Fuel before the start of Drizzle in year 9. To allow you to produce Enriched Fuel, you will be given a new blueprint - the Field Engineering Station. If you succeed, all your starting caravans will gain the following goods for the duration of this cycle: 10 Bricks and 30 Flour.
- Provide a substitute - Start the game here without any fuel (fuel from Embarkation Bonuses will also be removed). Upon winning, you will be given the Guild's Sigil perk (traders arrive 25% faster and their perks and blueprints cost 25% less) for the next 3 games.
- Fire Moths - lowered the number of Wildfire Essences given to players for picking the second option. It’s now 2 instead of 3.
- First Dawn Caravan - removed the 15 Packs of Provisions reward given to players for picking the second option. It’s now just 30 Grain.
- Forsaken Gods Followers - increased the reward given to players for choosing the first option from 4 Seal Fragments to 5.
- The Gambler - removed the first option entirely (bet 20 Food Stockpiles and win with the Irresponsible Gamble effect), and replaced it with a new one:
- Let fate decide - Win a game with the Playing with Feelings effect (each season, a random species is favored). If you succeed, all your starting caravans will gain the following goods for the duration of this cycle: 30 Pottery and 20 Boots.
- Hanged Viceroy - added a new option:
- Punish them - For your loyalty, each of your settlements will receive an additional cornerstone reroll for the duration of this cycle. However, your villagers will resent this decision, causing Resolve to drop 300% faster until you successfully complete at least 2 settlements.
- Somber Procession - removed the first option entirely (give 3 Reserve Embarkation Points), and replaced it with a new one:
- Join the funeral - Start the game with a Feast Hall blueprint. Build it, complete all three stages of the funeral feast, and win the game. If you succeed, you will receive the Feast Hall blueprint for the next 3 games (a service building where villagers can fulfill their need for Brawling and Treatment).
- Forsaken Town - added a new option that can appear randomly:
- Do it for free - Start the game here, in a settlement founded by another viceroy (with some pre-selected blueprints, a few selected cornerstones, some discovered glades, some badly handled events, and a partially built town).
- ⚡ Rebalanced several Cornerstones.
- Borrowed Time - this Cornerstone will now only appear later in the game, when there’s more Impatience.
- From the Shadows - this cornerstone has been removed.
- Ancient Pact - this cornerstone has been removed.
- City of Wonders - changed the rarity of this cornerstone from legendary to Epic.
- Hidden from the Queen - nerfed the drawback of this cornerstone from 600% Impatience generation rate after year 9 to 500% after year 10.
- Queen's Gift - increased the Hearth Resistance bonus from 150 to 300.
- Mark of the Sealed Ones - increased the bonus to sacrifice burning time from 50% to 100%.
- Worker's Rations - lowered the drawback of this cornerstone from a 20% higher chance of double consumption to 15%.
- Counterfeit Amber - lowered the required amount of rainwater used in engines to trigger the 10 Amber reward from 50 to 40.
- Reckless Plunder - changed how the drawback works. It now only lowers the number of charges in large nodes.
- Improvised Tools - increased the amount of Tools given to the player from 10 to 15 (and from 15 to 24 in the Stormforged version).
- ⚡ Changed how certain Cornerstones are drawn (yearly Epic and Legendary)
- More perks now take into account what resources are available in a given biome from trees, ponds, veins, or gathering nodes (+X production perks, some perks like Meat Specialization).
- More need-based perks now take into account the species present in a settlement - for example the Work Safety Guide or Firelink Ritual.
- Please note that not all cornerstones will be covered by this new system (partly because we're still working on them, and partly because we don't want to overdo it by limiting the RNG too much).
- In the future, we'll be extending this to other systems - most notably trader benefits and orders - to eliminate useless draws (or make them as rare as possible without making the game too tweaky).
- ⚡ Rebalanced the settlement generation in the Forsaken Town World Map Event.
- Improved the glade opening algorithm. The number of open glades should now be a bit more consistent.
- Cornerstones are now generated after glades are discovered (to avoid unnecessary condition triggers based on glades).
- The easy version of the Forsaken Town event now starts in Drizzle, the hard one in Clearance.
- Increased the chance for waiting newcomers when starting a game.
- ⚡ 🐸 Changed the way effects are drawn in the Cornerstone Forge in Ashen Thicket. Bonuses for species not present in a settlement (+X to complex food/service good production, more Resolve from a specific need) should no longer be offered to players.
- Removed From the Shadows from the rewards pool for reaching level 12. Added the Obsidian Runestone perk instead.
UX/UI improvements
- ⚡ Changed the “Resource Gathering” category name to “Resource Acquisition”, as it contains not only gathering camps, but also mines, rain catchers, and fishing huts.
- ⚡ Changed the “base charges” text in mining vein tooltips to “max. Charges” to improve clarity.
- ⚡ Changed the description of the Farsight Cornerstone for clarity.
- ⚡ Changed the tooltip of the Seized Inheritance perk to also mention leaving villagers (not just dying).
- ⚡ Improved the description of the second option of the Gambler World Map Event to make it clear how much players are betting and what they are getting in return.
- ⚡ Improved the descriptions in multiple World Map Event tooltips and option buttons to make it clearer what the effects and win conditions are.
- ⚡ Added the “(or higher)” suffix to some difficulty-based deeds that were missing it.
- ⚡ 🐸 Changed the description of the “have X villagers” conditions in the Cornerstone Forge to better indicate which ones are retroactive and which are not.
- 🐸 Updated the DLC welcome screen to correctly reflect the DLC content and requirements in all languages.
- The Hostility penalty from the Fire Moths World Map Event now shows Hostility values for all difficulties.
- Changed the descriptions of all flawless production buildings for better clarity.
- Changed the descriptions of all holy service buildings for better clarity.
- Resized the World Event window to make room for more options and for slightly larger buttons.
- Resized the World Event mission tracker on the HUD to make it easier to read.
- Fixed a bug where some decorations (Bonfire, Fish Mount) were available in the in-game encyclopedia before being unlocked.
Bug fixes
- ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Commenda Contract World Map Event to spawn even if players didn’t have trade routes unlocked.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Open Vault Glade Event had always the same effects and requirements, regardless of the difficulty level.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Forbidden Lands and Dangerous Lands modifiers could not be spawned together with the Abandoned Settlement modifier.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where the Fuel Mix perk (bonus production of Purging Fire) could appear in games without the Blight Post.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where solving the Fishmen Totem Glade Event would not unlock its entry in the in-game encyclopedia.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where the “reset camera” keybind would move the camera to the previous building when used right after switching between buildings.
- ⚡ Fixed a typo in the German version of the game (Cornerstone Forge trade route condition).
- ⚡ Fixed a typo in the Ukrainian version of the game (mute in background).
- ⚡ Fixed a number of typos in the Japanese version of the game (Gentle Dawn, Lori dialogue, tools condition, Temple of the Sun effect description).
- ⚡ Fixed a few typos in the Russian version of the game (Book of Water, Frog Republic, mute in background).
- ⚡ Fixed a typo in the Hungarian version of the game (Training Expeditions).
- ⚡ Fixed a typo in the Simplified Chinese version of the game (Metallurgic Proficiency perk).
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where failing certain Sealed Forest maps would incorrectly show the end credits.
- ⚡ Fixed a bug where TAB sometimes did not work for switching text fields in production limits.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where some Experimental Cornerstones would disappear after reloading a game in the Ashen Thicket.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where the Overzealous Architects cornerstone tooltip was not counting progress correctly.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where the Paste +2 effect in the Cornerstone Forge added +2 to Ale production instead of Paste.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where Algae Ponds and Mushrooms would not spawn in the initial glade in the Ahsen Thicket.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where the progress of the “break interval” bonus from the Cornerstone Forge was not tracked correctly.
- ⚡🐸 Fixed a bug where Strider Port expeditions could not be started if all blueprints had already been acquired.
- 🐸 Fixed a bug where the “higher resolve penalty to unfavored species” effect in the Cornerstone Forge has the wrong debuff name.
- Fixed a bug where some locked in-game encyclopedia entries were not ordered correctly.
- Fixed a bug where sometimes fishing ponds would not spawn in some Scarlet Orchard glades.
- Fixed a bug where some rocks would be placed or rotated incorrectly.
Other
- Updated the Supporter Pack.
- Added three new World Event illustrations.
- Added the Cat emoji.
- Added the Cat portrait.
- Updated the Chibi Villagers wallpaper.
The current game version is 1.6.2.
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 would very much like to do so, we also prepared a separate Legacy Branch 1.5 where we’ll keep the previous version available for a limited time.
If you want to finish your current settlement, follow the instructions below prior to playing with the new Elder Update (1.6).
- Open Steam
- Right-click on Against the Storm in your library
- Select Properties
- Go to the BETAS tab
- Enter the access code in the “Private Betas” section. The access code is: LegacyBranch15
- Click on “Check code”
- Choose “legacy_branch_1.5” from the drop-down list
- Wait for the game to update the files
Once you finish the settlement on the Legacy Branch 1.5, follow the steps above, but select “None” to return to the main branch.
Warning: Legacy Branch 1.5 is not backward-compatible (returning to it from version 1.6 can cause loading problems) and will be closed later this year. Once it’s closed, Steam won’t be able to load the game unless you switch to the primary “None” branch, so we recommend doing it as soon as possible.
PREVIOUS UPDATES
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/6831492164258627849
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/7371918503944271593
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4665256208709904287
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4665256208709775238