Fellow Dwarves! Today we are pushing out a new version of Orebound to "thenextupdate" version of the game. If all goes well we intend to set this live for all players very soon, probably this week.
So if you don't want to jump in early it wont be long until everyone gets this version!
So what have we been doing over the last few weeks?!
We have made a pretty extensive list of everything we have done below but we will start with some general news now.
We identified three major areas that have needed work over the last few months.
1. Performance on lower end machines.
2. Object count issues with the game causing it to crash.
3. Saving and loading times.
This update will mainly address problem #1 which is performance on lower end machines and it also touches on point three. Loading time. We have taken the time to invest in these areas to make sure the games future is going to be epic. Why is this? Our 2+ minute loading time was just too long for a new game. We also identified extremely long load times on larger games and we have made improvements here as well ( to come very soon in the next patch as well ).
The voxel world and generator needed a tonne of optimisation. We have spent many months here and now we are happy to say that we have reduced the initial game generation time down from 2+ minutes in some cases... To under 20 seconds. Yes that is correct. A new game and all its world contents can now be generated in under 20 seconds. For faster machines this might be under 10 seconds.
The TLDR here is that we have worked incredibly hard to breakdown exactly how the game works and optimise it as much as possible. This will now in future allow us to add more and more layers to the game.
Improved cave lighting and better deposit rendering.
We have spent a tonne of time improving how the game looks and feels underground. This includes allowing all the ores and the deposits to render correctly underground. We noticed that above ground ores would render fine but below ground they would not. This update fixes this so gems and gemlike materials now look very nice and shiney!
We also gave caves a small make over to make them look nicer.
Cave Updates and pickup items.
Caves can now spawn all sorts of pickups such as ores, gems and discarded loot bags from previous Dwarves long since gone. We are going to build on this in the future. But as you can see in this screenshot caves are now littered with items to find and pickup. We think this is going to be a great addition.
As you might have noticed in the image above, caves will also now spawn more than 1 camp. Infact each cave and random from 1 to 5 camps to make it even more interesting!
Anvil Updates
Below is a sneak peak of all the cool features currently being worked on for the next major update for Orebound. We're going to be calling these Anvil Updates, They will contain major game feature additions and the first one will be announced very soon. You can find a preview of these new features in the Citadel now!
We have also done a full game balance and cost rework we think our fellow dwarves are going to enjoy it's a massive list so we will leave it below.
There is even more in this update we have likely forgot, for example we nearly forgot to tell you the elevator is now faster and has a better noise. You'll noticed a tonne of changes and we might have missed some. Overall this is a pretty massive update and we hope you'll all enjoy it.
We will leave the full list below for everyone to checkout and read and will be putting out an update about Anvil Update 1 soon! Thank you everyone! The Dwarven Devs
New
When a building is destroyed, recipe in a machine is changed or a quest reward is given and items not able to be added to inventory and now placed in a loot bag next to the player to be picked up later
Added a warning message when mining ores with a full inventory.
Players will now drop a crate with items if their inventory is full.
New UI improvements for the Navigator. this will now show users they can place drills on deposits. Also improved navigator UI in general. Pretty much an entire overhaul.
Changes
- Better Pickaxes now give more loot (iron gives x2, Electrum gives x3)
- Auto smelter now requires 1 dust per ingot rather than 2
- Boulders now give more stone when destroyed
- Rebalanced turret damage so kinetic and flame turrets do more damage than the mini turrets
- All machines now have 500 health
- Allow overlap building option is now available for machines as well
- Constructor now makes items at double the speed of the blacksmith
- Barrelling alcohol now takes less time
- Can no longer drink barrels
- Changed lava damaged at bottom of world from 2 to 10
- Changed farm 2 research icon
- Empty hotbar slots can now be highlighted
- Infinite deposits no longer mineable with pickaxe to prevent rapid game progression.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed Gem Infuser being able to craft multiple Thandor gems if destroyed and replaced
- Fixed some stumps sometimes not being harvestable
- Changed large wood foundation collision so you can now go under it
- Changed collision on world borders to stop buildings being placed outside it
- Adjusted collision on large ore vein to be more fitting on model
- Fixed goblins having a 90% chance to fight an ally when hit by them (now correct 10%)
- Fixed bug with tunnels not spawning that should have been.
- The new larger caves now have upto 5 goblin camps and other points of interest. They will spawn anywhere between 1 and 5
- Increased boar spawning on surface.
- Fixed a russian mistranslation of "Chest" meaning (in Russian) human pectorals, to chest (a storage unit)
- Fixed Restoring health when eating herbed boar
- Can now walk through wooden pillar gaps
- Fire effect from flame traps and lava level no longer continue after death
- Fixed trap collision issues
- Map select image now only changes if new image is different
- Fixed mines not doing any damage
- Fixed death chest being destroyed by enemies
- Updated King's market dwarf's clothes
- Fixed some traps affecting npc navigation
- Recipe tooltips now show crafting time with machine efficiency multiplier applied
- Fixed Flame turret not taking damage
- Fixed boar cooking sound SFX not being effected by SFX volume
- Fixed broken explosives quest
Full game balance rework
We have been listening to you & decided to rework the core design of Orebound in a way that improves freedom and the general flow of gameplay. For the most part everything has been made cheaper and more accessible with a handful of cost increases here and there.
The following is the new balance changes.
Research station changes
Factory and automation:
- Automation 1 kept at 500 gold.
- Automation 2 reduced from 2500 gold and 25 iron ingots to 1500 gold and 10 iron ingots.
- Automation 3 reduced from 5000 gold, 25 iron cogs & 25 iron plates to 3000 gold and 20 iron plates.
- Automation 4 reduced from 75,000 gold and 100 copper ingots to 50,000 gold and 50 copper pipe-works
- Automation 5 reduced from 250,000 gold, 100 silver dinnerware and 100 gold bracers to 200,000 gold, 75 silver dinnerware and 75 gold bracers.
- Automation 6 unchanged
- Automation 7 reduced from 10 million gold, 100 ruby, 100 sapphire and 100 emerald ingots to 5 million gold with 100 of each gemstone ingot.
- With so much new content being added to the game (and even more on the way) we realised how difficult it was to explore all aspects of gameplay in the early tiers of the game when the player has less access to gold.
- These changes have been made to help get the early game flowing quicker into automation while also reducing the grind factor of the later tiers to help improve the feel of the game.
Dwarves vaults:
- Tier 1 reduced from 1,000 gold to 500 gold
- Tier 2 reduced from 5,000 gold to 2,000 gold
- Previous tiers 3 & 4 have been merged into one, bringing the auto-market and grand coin storage into the same tier priced at 15,000 gold
- These changes aim to help the player manage their gold far easier in the early game stages.
Crafting
- Tier 2 reduced from 5,000 gold to 2,500 gold
- Tier 3 reduced from 20,000 gold to 10,000 gold
- Considering the upgrade station requires resources to upgrade it as well as the initial research requirements, we wanted to make it easier for players to explore the tools and weapon variety’s we have in game.
Navigator
· Copper tier reduced from 2,500 to 750 gold
· Gold and silver reduced from 15,000 to 5,000 gold
· Gemstones reduced from 30,000 to 15,000 gold
Copper was far too highly priced for the early stages of the game and for a game about digging, we want to make it as easy as possible to find the treasures of the world!
Food & farming
· Tier 1 kept at 500 gold
· Tier 2 reduced from 1,500 to 1,000 gold
· Tier 3 reduced from 5,000 to 3,000 gold
· Previous tier’s 4 and 5 have been merged into one, costing 10,000 gold.
With food being a vital part of survival now, it was important to make it accessible to the early stages of gameplay. We also decided to merge the potion & automated farming stages into one.
Base building
· Tier 1 reduced from 2,500 gold to 500 gold
· Tier 2 reduced from 5,000 gold to 1,000 gold
· Tier 3 reduced from 7,500 gold to 2,000 gold
· Tiers 4 and 5 have been merged into one costing 3,000 gold Base building was unjustly expensive for the player to gain access to. It is now far cheaper to allow for a much more unrestricted fortress building experience!
Explosives
· Tier 2 reduced from 10,000 to 5,000 gold
· Tier 3 reduced from 50,000 to 25,000 gold
The barrier of entry to explosives was previously a bit too high and this has been reduced now.
Transport
· Tier 1 reduced from 2,000 to 1,000 gold
· Tier 2 reduced from 7,500 to 5,000 gold
Keeping with the general theme of allowing easier access to gameplay aspects, we reduced the costs of transportation too
Defences
· Tier 1 reduced from 1,000 to 500 gold
· Tier 2 reduced from 5,000 to 2,500 gold
· Tier 3 reduced from 15,000 to 7,500 gold
· Tier 4 reduced from 30,0000 to 15,000 gold
Turrets and traps are a great feature of the game and we want players to be able to line their base with them more easily.
Building cost reworks
In line with the research station changes, we have also rebalanced every single placeable building recipe. This has been done to create a smoother transition from early to late game and improve the general feeling of the game.
Crafting
· Kings Questboard reduced from 25 stone & 25 wood to 15 stone & 15 wood
· Tool station reduced from 25 stone & 25 wood to 20 stone & 20 wood.
· Research station reduced from 20 stone, 20 wood and 20 iron ore to 20 stone, 20 wood and 10 iron ore.
· Manual smelter reduced from 50 stone and 10 coal to 30 stone & 10 coal.
· Blacksmith reduced from 25 iron ingots and 20 wood to 15 iron ingots and 20 wood.
· Kings market reduced from 60 wood and 40 iron ore to 40 wood and 10 iron ore.
These changes will help the early game and onboarding process feel less resource demanding & improve the general feel of gameplay.
Machines Reductions
· Belt drill reduced from 10 iron plates, 15 iron plates and 15 iron cogs to 10 iron plates, 10 copper plates and 10 iron cogs
· Auto crusher reduced from 40 wood, 10 iron plates and 15 cogs to 30 wood, 10 iron plates, 10 iron cogs
· Smelter reduced from 20 iron plates, 20 copper plates, 10 iron cogs and 20 coal to 15 iron plates, 15 copper plates, 5 iron cogs and 5 copper pipes
· Ammo constructor reduced from 25 wood, 15 iron cogs, 10 iron plates and 10 copper plates to 10 iron cogs, 10 iron plates & 10 copper plates.
· Barrel maker reduced from 15 wood, 15 iron plates and 15 iron cogs to 20 wood, 10 iron plates, 5 iron cogs.
· Infuser reduced from 50 precise pipes and 25 of each gem type to 25 precise pipes, 25 precise gears and 10 of each gem type
· Splitters, mergers and ammo splitters all reduced from 10 iron ingots, 10 copper ingots, 5 iron cogs to 5 iron ingots and 5 copper ingots.
· Water pump reduced from 5 iron plates, 5 iron cogs, 20 wood to 5 iron plates, 5 iron cogs and 15 wood
· Auto water pump reduced from 20 copper ingots, 10 iron ingots, 15 iron cogs to 20 wood, 10 iron plates and 10 copper pipes.
· Water splitter reduced from 10 iron ingots, 5 wood to 5 iron ingots, 5 wood.
· Boiler reduced from 5 copper plates, 5 copper pipes and 5 iron cogs to 5 copper plates, 5 copper pipes and 15 stone
· Auto boiler reduced from 20 copper ingots, 20 iron ingots, 15 iron cogs to 5 iron pipes, 5 copper pipes, 10 copper plates.
· Belt container reduced from 30 wood and 10 iron ingots to 20 wood & 10 iron ingots.
· Large belt container reduced from 40 wood and 10 iron ingots to 30 wood and 10 iron ingots
Full Machine building reworks
· Auto market changed from 20 iron ingots, 4 gold ingots, 4 silver ingots to 25 wood and 15 copper plates
· Gem cutter increased from 20 iron ingots, 10 gold ingots and 10 silver ingots to 20 iron plates, 10 gold pistons, 10 precise pipes and 10 precise gears
· Gem polisher changed from 20 iron ingots, 20 gold ingots and 10 precise gears to 20 iron plates, 10 turbo filters, 10 precise gears and 10 precise pipes
· Constructor changed from 20 iron cogs, 20 iron ingots, 4 gold ingots, 4 silver ingots and 4 copper plates to 15 iron plates, 15 iron cogs, 5 gold gears and 5 silver rods
· Combinator changed from 40 iron plates, 40 silver filters, 10 silver rods and 10 gold gears to 20 iron plates, 15 silver filters, 15 copper plates and 10 gold gears
· Minecart station changed from 20 wood, 10 copper plates, 10 iron plates, 5 copper pipes and 5 iron cogs to 20 wood, 10 copper plates and 10 iron plates.
Unchanged Machine Buildings
· Portable drill
· Steam splitter
· Steam tank
Valuables
· Dwarf bank changed from 20 wood and 20 stone to 15 wood and 15 stone
· Coin storage reduced from 10 stone to 5 stone
· Large coin storage unchanged
· Grand coin storage reduced from 50 stone and 10 gold ingots to 40 stone
Farming
· Cauldron reduced from 2 iron ingots, 10 stone, 10 coal to 2 iron ingots, 5 stone
· Spitroast unchanged
· Manual brewer increased from 15 wood and 5 copper ingots to 15 wood and 15 copper ingots
· Auto farm reduced from 20 iron ingots, 10 copper pies and 10 iron cogs to 25 wood, 10 copper pipes and 10 iron cogs
· Brewing machine reduced from 20 copper plates, 20 copper pipes, 20 copper plates and 20 iron cogs to 15 copper plates, 15 copper pipes, 15 iron plates and 5 cogs.
· Small sprinkler changed from 5 stone and 5 iron ingots to 5 copper ingots and 5 wood
· Large sprinkler changed from 5 copper plates, 5 copper pipes and 5 iron cogs to 5 copper plates and 10 copper pipes
· All sized crop plots and Earthshard variants are unchanged.
Mining
· Plunger changed from 5 wood and 1 iron ore to 2 wood and 1 iron ingot
· Placed explosives unchanged
· Demo charge changed from 20 sapphire ore, 10 silver power and 2 cogs to 15 wood, 10 iron powder, 1 cog and 10 copper powder
· Mountain vaporiser changed from 20 iron ingots, 25 gold ingots, 50 sapphire gems and 3 precise gears to 10 iron plates, 5 gold ingots, 2 precise gears and 25 sapphire gems
Defences
· Mini turret recipe of 5 iron cogs, 10 iron ingots, 5 wood and 50 coal reduced to only require 10 coal
· Auto turret reduced from 10 iron cogs, 10 iron ingots, 20 wood and 10 copper ingots to 15 wood, 5 copper plates, 10 iron cogs and 5 iron plates
· Flame turret reduced from 5 precise pipes, 5 precise gears, 10 iron plates, 10 copper plates and 20 wood to 10 precise pipes, 10 iron gears, 10 iron plates and 10 copper plates.
· Small arrow trap reduced from 5 iron ingots, 5 copper ingots and 10 wood to 2 iron ingots, 2 copper ingots and 5 wood
· Large arrow trap reduced from 10 iron ingots, 10 copper ingots and 20 wood to 5 iron ingots, 5 copper ingots and 10 wood
· Flame floor trap reduced from 10 copper plates, 10 iron plates and 15 coal to 5 copper plates, 5 iron plates and 10 coal
· Flame wall trap reduced from 10 copper plates, 10 iron plates and 15 coal to 5 copper plates, 5 iron plates and 10 coal
· Tesla trap reduced from 10 silver rods, 5 copper plates and 10 iron plates to 5 silver rods, 5 copper plates and 5 iron plates
· Mine trap reduced from 10 copper powder, 10 iron powder and 6 copper plates to 4 copper powder, 4 iron powder and 4 copper plates
· Spike trap- reduced from 15 wood and 10 iron ingots to 5 wood and 5 iron ingots
· Zap floor trap reduced from 5 silver rods, 5 copper ingots and 5 iron plates to 2 silver rods, 2 copper plates and 2 iron plates
Fortress and interior
As a general change, all the wooden and stone fortress building pieces have been reduced down to 2 wood or stone respectively, unless something is incremental or is simply a larger piece, this is the case for everything.
Iron ingots are still a requirement for some interior items, just like gold is. But the amount has been largely reduced.
The following are all the new recipes for torches and lights
Some recipe requirements for torches and lights were extremely expensive, and just like everything else in this balance change, they have been reduced to improve the feel of the game.
· Elevator stop- 15 wood, 5 cogs
· Elevator shaft- 5 wood, 2 cogs
· Torch stand- 3 stone and 2 coal
· Fancy torch stand- 3 stone, 2 coal, 1 gold ingot
· Ceiling light, 2 iron ingot, 2 coal
· Large ceiling light- 4 iron ingots, 6 coal
· Wall torch- 1 copper ingot, 2 wood
· Wide wall torch- 2 copper ingots, 4 coal
· Wall lantern- 1 copper ingot, 1 iron ingot, 2 coal
· Stone brazier- 3 stone, 4 coal
· Stone brazier 2- 5 stone, 6 coal
· Stone brazier 3- 2 stone, 1 coal
· Brazier plate 1- 2 stone, 1 coal, 1 gold
· Short brazier- 2 stone, 1 coal
· Fancy brazier- 5 stone, 2 gold, 5 coal
· Tall metal brazier- 5 stone, 5 coal
· Large metal brazier- 10 stone, 5 coal
· Chain- 1 iron ingot
· Wooden sign- 2 wood
· Stone plaque- 2 stone
· Metal plaque- 1 iron ingot, 1 stone
· Holo plaque- 1 sapphire gem, 2 iron ingots