An optional beta is available to all Steam owners of the game running a 64 bit Windows system. The idea with these occasional builds is to give people access to new things that need wider testing, with the understanding that there are likely to be crashes and balance issues. We would appreciate feedback if you can provide it - post on our Steam forums, or our official forums.
The beta code is summertimeants. If you’re unfamiliar with how to activate a Steam beta, here’s how to do it:
- Find Empires of the Undergrowth in your Steam library, right-click on it and choose "Properties"
- Choose the "Betas" tab
- In the box titled "Enter beta access code to unlock private betas", enter summertimeants
- After the "Access code correct" information appears, make sure you've chosen "openbeta" from the "Select the beta you would like to opt into" drop-down menu
- Press close - the game will now update to the beta branch.
IMPORTANT: If you participate in the optional beta, you do so with the understanding that crashes are likely and there are incomplete features since it is a test build. In this beta, freeplay saving is disable due to AI colonies not having the code to properly save their thought processes yet. Due to the unpredictable nature of beta tests, we strongly recommend you back up your formicarium saves before you play:
You will find your saves on Windows in:
C:/Users/YOUR USER NAME/AppData/Local/EotU/Saved/SaveGames
Note that AppData is usually hidden; you can either un-hide the folder in the files settings or just type it into the bar. If you make a copy of this folder and save it somewhere else, you can restore your saves by replacing this folder with the backed up one.
Headline Features
New Extra Level - Tug Of War
- An auto-battler game mode in which you pit your chosen build against an AI opponent
- The enemy has a number of different builds to choose from; to beat it you’ll need to be smarter and faster!
- Instead of gathering resources you are given food periodically based on how well you’re doing
- Push back the enemy and kill their queen to claim victory
Freeplay AI Colonies
- AI enemy colonies can now be added to a new freeplay game in the setup menu
- In this first implementation their AI is basic so they don’t have a difficulty setting (it is greyed out; this will be expanded on later) but you can give yourself a challenge by having them cheat to varying degrees
- A new victory condition - Conquest - can be set in Advanced Options. To achieve it, all enemy queens must be killed
Fixes & Balance
- Fixed an issue where a loaded harvestman’s leg could cause the game to crash
- Can no longer place markers for nest group underground via minimap
- Blocked side routes for the huge whip spider on Aggrandise (preventing your ants pathing through its chamber unintended)
- Underground enemy icons are now scaled based on how many points they provide. This should make it easier to gauge threats before attacking
- Allied creatures now show health when camouflaged
- Ramp collision improvements
- Reduced point value of army ant media
- Marker calculations have been improved (should be more responsive)