Major Update #1
Good evening, everyone.
The first major update is now available. It's been a long time coming, and I hope you still have interest in the game. If so, then thank you for your patience.
Level 117
WARNING: To those of you who have changed your keybindings in the past, you might have to go through them and make sure none of them have been overridden or have the same key set for multiple bindings.
FEATURES
• New level - Level 117, Class 4 Difficulty.
• 2 New Entities with unique mechanics.
• Multiple New items, contracts, and recipes.
• Badges - You can now unlock badges to display your triumphs.
• Journal - A new UI element containing all your gathered Entity pages (they are now interactive) with extra info, unlocked level info with completion and expedition stats, character info/stats, unlocked badges, and a page of all your current contracts, etc.
• Research Level System - You now have levels associated with each entity and a total research level displayed in your journal. Gain XP by completing research contracts associated with the entity, take photos, or exploit their weaknesses. Leveling up will earn you unique entity badges, money, and add to your total research level.
• New general areas and a hidden new "Pipedreams" section added to "Level 2.6," along with an alternate exit from the level.
• New "dynamic weather system," a big new section, and other additions to "Level 84."
• Proximity Voice Chat (Experimental) - With a player list where you can mute/unmute players. (Check controls to see new keybinds and/or rebind them)
• Expedition Summary and Exploration Reward - Once you successfully make it out of a level, you will now be shown an "expedition summary" screen, displaying stats, time, and rewarding you for "exploration." Your highest reached "%" is displayed in your journal.
• Character Display - Opening your inventory will now flip the camera and display your character in 3rd person, so you can see yourself in all the glorious bling you've gathered.
• In-Game Playerlist (separate from the voice chat playerlist) - The session host will now have all the players in their game displayed in the ESC menu with a kick button available (Should make public sessions more manageable).
• New Contracts Screen - Interacting with the bulletin board in traders keep will now open a separate UI for claiming contracts, making you able to see categories of contracts and then hover over them to see the full description before claiming it. This also separates the available contracts for all players, so everyone in the session can choose from their own list of contracts.
• New Contract-specific slots in your inventory; you are now limited to carrying 6 contracts at a time (with exception for the hotbar slots), but this also means that you can carry 6 active contracts at all times without wasting any of that precious inventory space.
• Save/Character Slots - You can now create and name up to 4 separate characters in the main menu and switch between them before starting or joining a game. The characters are completely separate saves, which means journal progress, inventory, and hub storage.
• Blackmarket - Hidden black market buildings can be found in several levels. You're lucky if you find one during working hours, but if you do, make sure to have your rare and sketchy items on you along with some money for those dirt-cheap deals.
• New Hound - The hound has a completely new model, sounds, and animations, along with some changes to its behavior and reaction to its weakness.
• Configurable Movement Keys - You can now rebind your movement keys (W, A, S, D - Default) and other new keybinds.
• Accessories Slot - You can now find and equip cosmetic accessories (more to come).
• New Unlockable Storage Room - More storage and a new mechanic.
• Traders Keep redesigned.
• FOV Slider added to options menu.
• New Bacteria sounds and altered animations.
• Alternate Exit added to Level 0.
CHANGES AND BUG FIXES
• No more body blocking - Collision with other players and entities has been removed, as it could cause problems when teleporting a player and to spare you some frustration on Level 2.6.
• Smoother camera movement when crouching, running, and zooming in/out.
• Complete visual redesign of all UI elements.
• More Crafting categories (should make it easier to find what you need to craft).
• Multiple Fixes for characters not stopping sprinting and draining stamina.
• Multiple Text chat fixes - This should hopefully also fix the issue with being assigned the wrong name. If you encounter a similar bug after this update, I would highly appreciate it if you report it on Discord or the community hub.
• Fixed multiple item duplication exploits and many more small bugs.
I've worked hard to ensure that this update brings some much-needed improvements and fun new features. I'm planning to expand even more on these new features with another update in the next few weeks, which should also bring some more useful features that I haven't had the time to finish with this one.
Enjoy! :)