Hello everyone,
Phase 5 content is now available in game.
Full patch notes are available below and you can watch Phase 5 Summary Video or our 75-minute-long Twitch preview, complete with Q&A Session.
Steam will automatically start a 467MB download and install this update.
You'll find the central feedback thread HERE
Enjoy,
The DTG Team
EARLY ACCESS PHASE 5 – FULL PATCH NOTES
New Fish - Bream.
Bream now feature in the game. These are relatively common in the lake and are in the 2lb to 5lb weight range.
Switching Rods.
In Phase 5, players will have 3 rods to use in Freedom Fishing mode. Players can call up the UI rod selection widget by pressing Tab on the keyboard or pressing Left or Right on a gamepad. Use your mouse or left stick on gamepad to control the cursor and highlight each available rod.
Use the mouse to move the cursor and hover over each rod in the UI element. Pressing A on the controller or enter on the keyboard (or left clicking the mouse) will select the rod that is currently highlighted in the widget and equip it.
Players can also quick switch rods by pressing 1, 2 or 3 on their keyboard to switch to rod 1, 2 or 3.
An animation of the player putting down the rod and picking up another rod will play each time the player chooses to switch rods.
Stalking (Casting From Anywhere).
Players begin the game with a rod in their hand. They can either then claim a peg by approaching it and pressing the appropriate key or simply explore the lakeside and cast from any location.
Players will need to be facing the water and will also need to be within a certain range (0~2 metres) of the bank to get the Cast From Here Prompt. If no peg is claimed then you can still change your rig by pressing the I key but you will not be able to bring up the switch rod widget.
If you claim a peg you can still choose to stalk the area around it so long as you remain within the required distance of it. Simply select a rod and then move around the area you wish to stalk in. If you wish to return the rod to its bankstick then return to your peg and when standing near to them press F to put the rod back down.
Short Distance Casting.
Short Distance Casting allows the player to cast up to 30 yards away from the player. The objective of Short Distance Casting is to perform quick, short casts near the shoreline when the player spots a fish showing nearby. As per the overhead cast, Players will be able to apply After-Cast Effects to the line to slow it down, or pull it in a certain direction in order to land the bait more accurately. Additionally, players can choose to clip their line if they have reached the desired distance and would like to cast to that distance again.
Players can switch between long and short distance casting by pressing Q on the keyboard of LS on a gamepad when in casting mode.
With a rod equipped, hold down the right mouse button to enter casting mode. Switch to short cast and then move the mouse backwards and forwards to build momentum on your line. Release right mouse button to release the line.
Progression
Players will be able to earn Experience Points (XP) by completing challenges and catching fish.
As you complete challenges or catch fish you will be awarded XP. As you earn more XP then your Angler Rating in the game will increase. Currently, casting challenges in the game are unlocked by gaining the required amount of XP.
This is work in progress.
Baiting with a Spod.
Players can now choose to bait an area of the lake using a spod to encourage fish to feed and thereby increase their chances of catching.
To equip your spod rod you must have set up a peg. Once set up, bring up the Rod Selection widget and highlight the Spod icon on the right hand side. Select this and the spod rod will automatically equip. Cast the spod and as it hits the water it will slowly bait the area surrounding it. Bait will only attract fish to that area if they are within its area of influence. The effect of the bait will dissipate over time.
Please give us your feedback on how you feel this is working. It’s a work in progress and with your help we can tweak its effectiveness.
Peg Names.
Seven of the pegs of our training lake have been renamed after the winners of the first [url= http://steamcommunity.com/app/314520/discussions/0/618460171325351815/]Freedom Fishing Early Access Competition.[/url]
The winners were, in descending order:
1. BSS Mudcat with 272 points.
2. TomC_Overshoe with 252 points.
3. Mr.Monk with 194 points.
4. HENRYda8th187 with 174 points.
5. dash122 with 168 points.
6. ptitoliver with 150 points.
7. jambo28 with 130 points.
These names will remain for the entire duration of Phase 5.
Tool-Tips.
With all the new features implemented in Phase 5, players needed to be informed of these changes in some way. Players will now be shown tool-tips in Freedom Fishing to help them understand and learn the new features in the game.
For example, if the player lands their rig on a reed bed the game should present a tool tip telling the player about reeds and what bait the player should be using in that scenario.
Please let us know if you’d like more tool tips to be added to the simulation.
Button Prompts.
As there are more interactive objects in the lake, players will now be shown Button Prompts when they approach interactive objects in Freedom Fishing.
These are contextual and appear at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.
Updated Peg Interaction Keys
The controls for Interacting with the peg have been updated:
- F - Puts the rod down on the peg you have claimed & can also be used to pick the rod up again
- Tab - Opens the rod selection menu when at a peg
- Space Bar - Closes your peg.
Feature Improvements
- Reeling and Playing - the character now takes into account the strength of the fish on the line meaning that you can no longer just pull up your rod without regard for the fish’s behaviour at the time.
- Fish distribution at the start of the game is now fixed - there are currently 150 fish in the lake. Fish maintain all their parameters when spawing and despawning meaning we have a consistent fish population from the start of your session to the end of your session.
- Fish AI is completely refactored. This allows for greater accuracy of behaviour and means the fish will go on runs and act in a more dynamic way once hooked.
Bug Fixes
- Hook and Lead models now point the right way.
- Made line somewhat more taught.
- Made bait alarm light more visible.
- Fix for auto resetting over catching fish when rod tip close to the water.
- Fixed tension Max/Min warnings to fire at the correct time.
- Fish will now escape when tension is too low for too long.
- Fish blend direction changes instead of snapping (still work in progress).
- Fish should escape above water less.
- Reel/Rod model replaced with High Res versions.
- The bream scaling is slightly off so they’re not as big as they need to be. This will be fixed in a patch update
Known Issues
- Reeling in your line will make the reels of the rods on the bank sticks also animate. Your lines on those rods won’t be affected.
- The bream scaling is slightly off so they’re not as big as they need to be. This will be fixed in a patch update.
- Pressing space after after casting with a spod causes the game to crash. This will be fixed in a patch update.