Alpha Version 0.2.17.0a - Update & Patch notes

Alpha Version 0.2.17.0a - Now live

Gather around one and all! Revel with us as we reveal of the most rambunctious yet equally resplendent patch notes in all the realm.

~Note from James ‘Scrub’ B: Figured it was time to give some of the words in the dictionary beginning with R some love. Any and all comments starting with the letter R will earn some Scrub points.

Important Notice

This patch (0.2.17.0) has had some significant improvements to the save/loading system. In light of this it is highly recommended that you start a fresh game. If you use a save file from a previous version some save data may be missing or interpreted incorrectly which can cause problems.
We would be especially grateful if players could ensure that they start a fresh game before reporting bugs to the developers lest we slip further into the dreaded incalculable Lovecraftian void of bug fixing insanity. Thank you.

Player

• Some inventory items such as water and food can now be used multiple times until the item is expended. A yellow bar next to the item indicates the amount remaining of that item.
• Player’s flashlight is now directed by the camera’s direction.
• The flashlight no longer casts undesirable shadows from the character’s weapons
• The flashlight beam can no longer be obscured by clothing
• Updated flashlight visuals. Character’s now starts with a more basic civilian grade flashlight.

Environment

• Materials on roads and paths are now slightly lighter to match the environment.
• Improved materials on all bushes for better lighting and Ambient Occlusion (AO).
• Adjusted overall world lighting.
• Improved fog layers.
• Adjusted various Brightness and AO values on shaders around the world.
• New Burchett Dam layout and visuals (work in progress).
• Added new Miller's Lake Camp location (work in progress).
• Added new water shader to streams and lakes.
• Added new water shader to ocean.
• Removed old vehicles from Sen’s car crash site.

Main Menu

• Improved lighting and environment in the Main Menu background.
• Added additional protagonists in the character selection menu (currently locked)

Weapons

• Added Condition and Durability statistics to weapons. Each time a projectile is successfully fired from a weapon it will reduce the condition of the weapon. Firearms will not jam until the weapon condition is below a 50%. When below this threshold, there is a chance the weapon will jam. Weapons with a condition of 0% cannot be equipped or fired. If it is a firearm, then weapon will just click as if no ammo is available. Condition rules also apply for melee weapons and gathering resources with tools/weapons.
• Weapon ammunition now saves and loads correctly. Ammunition will no longer get returned to the inventory or disappear entirely when reloading the game from a save. The amount of ammunition in the magazine is now recorded and will be present in the magazine next time when loading.
• Additional weapon information is now saved and restored on loading: Weapon fire modes (full-auto, burst, etc) are now saved/loaded. Jammed status is now saved/loaded. Holstered/Unholstered status is now saved/loaded. This means that the weapon in your hands when you save will be in your hands next time you load instead of returning to the holstered position.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed critical issue often causing players to get stuck on the loading ‘initialisation’ screen when loading saved games.
• Fixed not being able to snap building parts loaded from a save file.
• Fixed white outline appearing on building parts after loading a save file
• Fixed window shutters from not being deleted with their parent window frame after loading from a save file.
• Fixed window shutters open/close status not being saved.
• Fixed player being able to switch weapons while also in Build Mode.
• Fixed being able to vault on of of NPC children (we fixed it, but it was kind of funny).
• Fixed not being able to place placeable items such as sleeping bags, lanterns, tents, etc.

0.2.17.2a HOTFIX

• Fixed ‘Welcome To Hanouten’ quest objectives getting stuck at various points throughout the mission.
• Fixed missing NPCs from Hanouten Safe Zone.
• Fixed occurrence causing NPCs to incorrectly patrol to other areas of the map.
• Fixed missing items from Loot Sacks dropped by Wanderers.
• Fixed issue where stacking items with durability condition would share the item’s condition across stack.
• Fixed issue where picking up spawned stacked items would duplicate when stacking.
• Fixed dropping items from inventory causing a lag spike.
• Fixed an issue in the crafting system that would sometimes stop you from crafting an item even if you had all the tools and resources.
• Fixed issue where text did not show on bow slot telling you what button to use to equip.
• Fixed issue with loose biker boots and mask having 0% condition, rendering them useless.
• Scrap metal weight has been significantly reduced.
• Bottles of water now give empty plastic bottles when consumed.
• Empty plastic bottles can be recycled into scrap plastic.
• Large water bottles now have 10 uses per bottle, each use replenishing 25 hydration.
• Buckets of clean water now have 20 uses, each replenishing 25 hydration.
• Small water bottles now have 2 uses, each replenishing 10 hydration.
• Cooking pots now have 10 uses, each use replenishing 25 hydration.
• Large water bottles and cooking pots can now be used for gathering water at water collector.
• Items used for gathering from Water Collectors (Large empty bottle, cooking pot & bucket) each reduce water volume to a maximum of 5% of the maximum content of the water collector.
• When gathering from a Water Collector (using a large empty bottle, cooking pot & bucket), the Water Collector’s contents is reduced by up to 5% of the maximum capacity depending on the item used to collect. Larger capacity containers will take more water.

THINGS TO REMEMBER BEFORE PURCHASING JOE

We are aware that the game is currently very demanding on performance and bugs can cause problems during gameplay. JoE is in constant development by two developers and a single 3D artists. We are keen to resolve issues as promptly as possible, although please understand that they are to be expected as the game continues into development.Please make sure to read the following statement from our Steam store page before considering your purchase, as always your support is appreciated.


BEFORE YOU PURCHASE: AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE DEV TEAM
In the spirit of our ethos of transparency and integrity we want you to know that our game is at ALPHA stage in EARLY ACCESS and will therefore contain many bugs and have performance issues on low to mid-end machines. We’re really proud of how it plays so far (it’s a lot of fun!) but if your rig DOES NOT meet the RECOMMENDED spec then the game may not perform well and as much as we appreciate your support we would suggest that you wait until later in development before you invest your money. We don’t want you buying something that’s going to disappoint you.

Please also be aware that multiplayer is not yet implemented. This is under development and planned for Q4 2019.


COMMUNITY LINKS

Steam Community Forums
Official JoE Discord Server
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