Over the past two weeks, we’ve selected 122 people from the #beta-applications channel on Discord and gave them access to the beta branch of the game. On top of that, we also added the Testers-group which were selected in a similar process for the 0.7.0-test a while ago. We’ve received enormous amounts of feedback, from one-sentence descriptions notifying us of tiny errors in item descriptions, to long posts with deep analyses of what works and what doesn’t. Thanks a lot to everybody who applies, tests and shares feedback! It is very valuable.
This has already led to six (technically seven) new versions being released, ranging from 0.9.0.0 to 0.9.0.6v2. In the image above is a small sample of the improvements in these builds.
I was a bit scared that the beta would lead to quite a lot of negative responses. For example, people not liking certain changes, and people being confused by new mechanics. But in general, the response has been very positive! Most testers seem to like the changes and believe they are improvements.
Of course we are very happy with this - but, it has introduced a new problem. 0.7.0 and 0.8.0 both had the endgame including the distant biomes that require loads of travelling and complicated trading rules. Lots of players skipped this content because it wasn’t rewarding enough. 0.9.0 solves this problem, but it does mean loads of people now actually finish the game, or at least reach the end of the tech tree. And now these people are clamouring for more content!
The current 0.9.0 beta doesn’t contain matchlock guns or printing presses, and we would love to reintroduce these items. We already had rough plans on how to do that, but hadn’t implemented them yet. We’re calibrating our plans based on the beta feedback, and we’ll re-implement that content and other era-appropriate items. We hope this will result in a satisfying endgame for 0.9.0!
The beta will become more open once that content is finished. If you can’t wait, feel free to apply to the beta via the instructions in the previous blog! If your application is more than three days old and you haven’t been selected, and you very much want to participate, you’re allowed to send in a new application. Please check whether you followed the instructions carefully.
New Terrain Generation
Two blogs ago, we revealed the very first pictures of the new terrain. One blog ago, we started the beta. In between, we made a lot of changes to the terrain generation, and we haven't shared that yet! So here is a overview of some of the major new features in the terrain.
Firstly, Zun got rivers to work, so the world will be crisscrossed by them. They allow players to build a colony next to water, but without being bound to the sea and certain lakes. They also make it much easier to explore the terrain without getting lost.
Randomly throughout the world, heaths will spawn. Technically, these are inspired by the anthropogenic heaths that are quite common in the Netherlands and nearby countries. These heaths offer access to unique resources. You’ll either have to purchase them manually using the new currency at the merchant, or gather them by building an outpost in a heath.
Another unique “mini-biome” scattered throughout the world are marshes. These wet areas offer access to unique resources in the same way as heaths.
Tall mountains topped with snow indicate the presence of ores like tin and gold, which can only be found in those locations - or again, at the merchant. Thus, gathering all of the jobs and items in 0.9.0 requires a main colony and three outposts. As explained in a previous blog, the outposts work quite different from the multiple-colonies-system added in 0.7.0. You don’t need to travel many kilometers of empty terrain to get to the unique biomes in 0.9.0, and the exchange of resources goes automatically, without requiring players to set up tedious trading rules in a primitive UI. This makes managing multiple colonies (/outposts) a much more intuitive and rewarding task.
Last but not least, the world now contains some rare mammoth trees! They help a lot, functioning as beacons that make it easier to orient yourself.
Bedankt voor het lezen :D