Hello Elders!
The day has come! All the changes in experimental are now moved to the main branch. Thank you again for the testing and feedback!
This version brings huge changes, but keep in mind that most of these will affect only your *next* run. Create a new game to try the new buildings, and all balance changes!
So, to recap, what are the major changes in this version? it seems the prophecy was right!
Controller Support
This has been quite a lot of work in the last month, but I finally was able to add Controller Support for the whole game. This works using Steam Input, so it also natively works for the Steam Deck. I intend to still do some tweaks on it, but it should be robust enough to play at the moment! Once everything is fine, I also intend to get the game as Steam Verified!
Buildings Rebalance 1.1
A lot of the buildings have received a rebalance and or tweaks, following player feedback as well as analyzing existing games. The changes reflected in the patch aim to create a better experience, but they are many, so if you feel that something is *too* off come say "hey!"
Endgame Rebalance 1.1
The endgame is now a bit shorter (30 turns less in total), and slightly harder, post the first winter, as to provide a better endgame experience for most players. Also, there are a couple of new mechanics that change the endgame: the Mini-Apocalypses are omen-like events that happen during the Apocalypse to spice things up a bit, and the Doomsday Tower is a special building that can be built to call forth the Apocalypse if you are so inclined!
Difficulty Scaling Redesigned
Difficulty scaling has been completely redesigned to better match the needs of players that want to play at Challenge mode. Now the game becomes harder at higher threat levels, the higher the difficulty, thus better following the skill of you players!
New Highscore Tables
From this patch (and each new minor version), the score will be reset so to make the highscore tables more useful. Also, score is now separated per elder!
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V 1.1.0
New Feature: Controller Support
- Implemented Controller support using Steam Input.
- Added official Xbox Controller layout and an official Steam Deck layout.
- Supports seamless switching between mouse/keyboard and controller.
- Dozens of small UI changes to streamline controller experience
- Custom pixelart glyphs added (the official ones were too ugly)
New Feature: Doomsday Mechanic
- Added new Doomsday mechanic. This allows snowballing runs to end sooner.
- Doomsday Tower building is unlocked if you research the whole tree, or if you complete a game
- Building the Doomsday Tower will trigger the Apocalypse immediately
New Feature: Mini-Apocalypses
- Added mini Apocalypse events!
- They work like Omens that do not increase threat level, and they come at a reduced strength (-2) compared to the current threat
- They have effects similar to Omens, and take from their pools
- They always happen 3 days before the corresponding Apocalypse
New Buildings
- Added new building, Doomsday Tower, tied to the Doomsday mechanic
- Added new building, Large Buoy, as an upgrade to Buoy
- Added new building, Stone Toolmaker, as an upgrade to Stone Workbench
New Score Formula
- Pips and Buildings now give 0 points for scoring
- Protected Events now give 200 points instead of 100
- Saved turns now give 300 points
UX
- Added glyphs to Tutorial
- Highscore tables are now separated per Elder
- Revised highscore screen to support new scoring
- Cycle pulsing now won't zoom anymore on creatures and will pulse only one at a time
- Added "minimum font size" setting
- Added a few controller-specific settings
- Added several new hotkeys
- Added hint for Doomsday Tower
- Added new UI and text for Mini-Apocalypses
Balance: Flow
- Rebalanced Omen scenarios to better match the desired end game flow (i.e. one more Omen at the end game for off-Domains)
- Reduced multi-Omen safety net from 7 to 5
- Reduced pre-Omen safety net from 5 to 4
- Reduced post-Omen safety net from 10 to 6
- Reduced post-Boss Omen safety net from 5 to 4
- Reduced third domain time start from 13% to 12%
- Reduced third domain time completion from 80% to 60%
- Reduced pre-Boss Omen safety net from "Boss Turns" to "Boss Turns - 2"
- Reduced second Spring duration from 35 to 25 days
- Reduced second Summer duration from 45 to 35 days
- Reduced second Autumn duration from 35 to 25 days
- Increased second Winter duration from 30 to 35 days
- Reduced Apocalypse duration from 30 to 25 days
- Reduced total number of days from 310 to 280
- Increased Danger generation at Threat 7 from 45 to 50
Balance: Mechanics
- Enhancing traits won't work anymore if the building is inactive
- Highly Fertile and Soil now work for all Fruits and Field buildings
Balance: Research
- School is now an upgrade of Scriptorium
- Onion and Pumpkin field now share a Research Slot
- Seeds Field and Medicinal Herb Field now have their own Research slot separate from Hemp Field
- Toolsmith now has Workshop as a prerequisite instead of Copper Mine
- Oil Extractor is not connected anymore to Heat production
- Fine Tailor now has all other Fabric-making buildings as a potential prerequisite
Balance: Map
- Rabalanced Starting Map Generation. Starting map generation now tries to use multiple food sources
- Reduced starting food difficulty modifier for higher challenges from 0.2 to 0.05 (effectively increasing the amount of food at the start)
- Starting food generation algorithm revised to take into account the total yield
Balance: Buildings
- Thinker's Post and upgrades trait changed from "No building around" to "Malus for each building around"
- Study and upgrades trait added: "Requires Town Center within 2"
- Scriptorium default output from 2 to 3
- Buoy reaching distance increased to 2
- Replaced Brothel's "+5 for each Dwelling " with "+4 for each Middle Dwelling"
- Reduced Brothel's Sickness malus from 45+4X to 4+4X
- Replaced Festival's "+4 for each Dwelling" with "+10 if an Active Social is within 1"
- Replaced Theater's "+5 for each Dwelling" with "+15 if an Active Leisure is within 1"
- Replaced Public Baths's "+5 for each Dwelling" with "+10 if an Active Leisure is within 1"
- Replaced Animal Theater's "+5 for each Animal Terrain" with "+10 if Animal Terrain within 1"
- Replaced Animal Theater's "+5 for each Dwelling" with "+2 for each Inhabited Pen within 2"
- Replaced School's "+3 for each Dwelling" with "+3 for each Knowledge-producer"
- Replaced Hospital's "+10 for each Dwelling within 1" with "+5 for each Dwelling within 2"
- Replaced Public Baths's "+5 for each Dwelling" with "+4 for each Active Leisure"
- Replaced Slaughterhouse's "+3 for each Dwelling" with "+3 for each Inhabited Pen within 1"
- Wrestling Arena now has the Intensify Hope 2 Trait
- Wrestling Ring now has the Intensify Hope 4 Trait
- Garden now requires 1 Flower per use
- Plankmaker's base output reduced from 2 to 1
- Insulated Cellar's Storage reduced from 50 to 20
- Insulated Cellar's Cold output reduced from 4 to 3
- Mender's Cottage now inherits the same traits of Mender's Hut
- Hemp Fields can now grow in Spring too
- Papyrus Cutter's input changed from 4 Hemps to 2 Hemps and 1 Water
- Papyrus Cutter output increased from 3 to 4
- Scrub Pyre's Hemp cost reduced from 4 to 3
- Hemp Wood Maker's job requirement is now Knifemaster instead of Herbalist
- Hemp Wood Maker max output increased from 8 to 10 Wood
- Hemp Wood Maker building cost increased by 4 Hemps
- Hemp Wood Maker trait bonus increased from 2 to 4
- Rabbit Shearer's job requirement is now Knifemaster instad of Shearer
- Fans now have a new traits that requires them to be surrounded by flat terrains
- Pool's total output reduced from 20 to 15
- All terraforming tasks that add new tiles now require Advanced Toolsmith
- Removing forests or mountains now also generates 10 Cataclysm
- Field Collector's base output increased from 1 to 2 (maximum output still 3)
- Kitchen's Meat recipe reduced from 2 to 1 base output
- Great Barbecue cooked Meat output from 10 to 12 (Fish unaltered)
- Large Campfire cooked Fish output from 10 to 12 (Meat unaltered)
- Strawberry output from 3 Strawberries to 4 Strawberries and 1 Seed
- Plums depletion rate from 10 to 8
- Apples depletion rate from 20 to 12
- Onion Field's turns to grow increased from 5 to 8
- Onion Field's depletion value reduced from 10 to 8
- Onion Field's output reduced from 7 to 4
Redesign: Difficulties
- Mastery level now goes from 250% to 500%
- Maximum mastery level reduced from 10 to 6
- Difficulty scaling for Danger now affects only Threat generation
- Difficulty scaling for Danger tied to Threat is now intrinsic into the Threat generation value
- Difficulty scaling is now exponential based on the threat level and the current difficulty
- Research scaling is now exponential based on research tier and the current difficulty
- Easy and Relax mode are unaffected
Graphics
- Carpenters now have their own fancy hat
- Doctor's Hut roof color changed to make it different than Mender's
System
- Improved performance and memory optimization
Bugfixes
- Fixed bug with Pips wading through the ground
- Fixed lists with more than 10 pages not showing correctly in Agepedia
- Fixed bug with unapplied settings not being reverted correctly
- Fixed some wrong UI positioning
- Fixed highscore screen not showing challenge level
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This has been a lot of work, so if you find any issue make sure to report them so I can fix everything in time!
Also, I will keep working on balance, optimization, QoL, and more, so keep your suggestions coming!
Have fun!
- Michele