Hi folks,
Lacris, our 8th major content update, is now live for everyone. Ok, technically, you already received part of the Lacris update earlier in May with the updated portraits and improved graphics across various in-game events. But at its core, this update is all about the sea.
So the main highlight is, of course, the ability to travel across ocean tiles. Whether that sounds like a big deal or not, it is really important in the long run. This feature expands the map beyond the borders of Doven's domain, connects cities through naval routes, and sets the stage for continuing story arcs in locations that were previously unreachable. It also required expanding and rewriting several systems, from enemy spawning to movement logic and pathfinding. So if you come across anything odd, like enemies following or ambushing you in the water, they really shouldn't be doing that at the moment.
Movement on land and sea follow similar rules, but bonuses for Land Movement and Sea Movement are handled separately. Naturally, you cannot simply step onto the ocean and start sailing. To use the Sail action, you must be on a Harbor tile, which is marked with a small boat symbol on the map.
For this update, you are assumed to have access to a boat and the freedom to sail wherever you like. This will change in the future once we have tested ocean travel and its new discoveries more thoroughly. I'll either add a short quest to acquire your own boat or give you the option to purchase one. But that is a story for another update.
As for the rest of the changes, you will find several balance improvements focused on wealth gain, bookwrights added to key towns where you can buy recipe books, quality of life improvements, and of course, a number of bug fixes.
There are dozens of new discoveries specific to Ocean and Harbor tiles.
Game difficulty also affects the monetary rewards you receive from contracts.
Bookwrights sell tomes containing recipes, and occasionally they offer rarer ones as well.
You can now delegate level-ups to the game, so you no longer need to micromanage your party members or even your main character.
And there's more. You can read the full patch notes below.
But let's take a moment to reflect on where we are in development.
Since the beginning of Early Access, the world has grown from a single town to 11, and even more if you count regions without settlements. We've introduced full moddability, from simple additions like new artwork to more complex changes like creating your own stories in the world. Features like the radiant contracts system, discoveries, crafting, and more have taken shape.
The next update will open up the Wasteland, add more discoveries and events for Arid and Desert tiles, and continue some of the story arcs further.
On a broader note, with most of the core systems now in place, the focus of our Early Access is shifting primarily to balance, adding more visual effects to abilities, improving sound design, and expanding both the story and the handcrafted content. There is still more to do before we reach version 1.0, but there is no better time than now to play the game and share your thoughts, ask for features, and make suggestions. Before you know it, it will all be done, and any gripes or wishes you had might be too late to include. I can't read minds, you know.
Patch Notes - 26/05/25 # 0.7.45
Bugfixes
- Fixed an issue with the automatic level-up method for NPC actors that allowed them to purchase the same perk twice.
- Fixed an issue that prevented escaping from the command shell.
- Fixed typos in various conversations.
New Content
- Added Sail move type.
- Added a Sail action. You can initiate a Sail action while standing on a Harbor tile. While sailing, you can move only to Ocean and Harbor tiles.
- Added Lacris region, landmass, and tiles.
- Added discoveries for Arid, Ocean and Harbor tiles.
- Added map icons for Harbor tiles to make it clear where you can embark or disembark.
- Added a new passive bonus "Sailing Range", which only affects the movement of Sail actions. Added its Codex entry.
- Added some merchants in Lacris' market.
- Added an inn in Lacris.
- Added support for Lacris in Shortcut and ask-for-directions conversations.
- Added Book merchants in Llanford's Market, Valetport's Grand Bazaar, Denham's Market & Doven's Bastion of Light
Misc Changes & QoL
- Changed the passive bonus "Movement Range" so it no longer affects Sailing actions. Updated its Codex entry.
- You can now level up party members automatically. A new checkbox has been added to each character's sheet: Level Up Skills and Perks Automatically. Each character is tracked individually. Once checked, the character will be leveled up immediately. From that point on, each time the character levels up, their SP and PP will also be assigned automatically.
- Changed Shortcut's cooldown to 1 from 3.
- Changed Explore's cooldown to 4 from 6.
- Increased the baseline of Contract rewards.
- The difficulty setting now affects Contract rewards. Easier difficulties yield more rewards, while higher difficulties yield less.
- Increased the Farthings awarded by enemies with random drops, and improved their chance to drop more on a successful check.
- Wanted criminals now have an extra chance to drop valuable items.
- Valuables and materials now have a small degradation in price when trading them with merchants
- In the Perks Editor, after typing a perk name, it will turn red if another perk with that name already exists.
- Recipes can now be properly granted through perks.
- Action details for move actions will now specify whether they are Land or Sea movement.
- Updated Unity Engine to 2022.3.62f1.