Hey all!
Just uploaded the most recent changes to the steam Beta branch.
This update is likely to be pretty buggy, so, only get it at your own risk.
Why is it a risky build? I've made a significant change to how light acts underground. Before, lights produced by torches and other similar devices would not penetrate the ground. Now it does. This may or may not cause problems because visibility was a huge part of determining whether your settlers could do something. Is that mining job visible? No? Ok, we won't do it. Now, you can see much further into the earth. So this might have issues where settlers think they can do something when they really can't yet. I've gone through the majority, if not all, the instances where this comes up but, hey, it's easy to miss things.
Also, the load times are slightly bloated because I'm doing some extra work with lighting and path checks. This week I'm going to improve load times but I thought I'd mention this as it may be noticeable to you.
So why did I make this change to lighting? I really want people to explore underground and to be able to find ore and dungeons easier. Plus, without light penetrating the earth, the game felt a bit claustrophobic or cramped.
Aside from lighting, I've add some additional props to the game to spice things up a bit. Things like hatches and death spikes but also more aesthetic items like hedges.
OH, I've also tracked down a bug with Tin ore not generating. Many of you were mentioning how hard it is to find Tin and, well, it was barely being generating. So, there ya go.
Anywhozle, here are the notes:
-Fixed a bug where the icon for liquids wasn't showing up in the filters for blueprints.
-Added 'Nax Hedge' prop.
-Added 'Nax Hedge Lantern' prop.
-Fixed a bug where rotatable blueprints wouldn't align with other blueprints.
-Fixed a bug where damage had double output.
-Entities will now prefer to walk on paths. And some paths provide faster slightly faster movement.
-Lights will now reveal hidden underground blocks.
-Fixed a bug where jobs couldn't be started from the block below if it had a platform.
-Fixed a bug where the fx for torches and other props would not line up if you placed a floor blueprint under the prop and then it was cancelled or finished.
-Fixed a bug where tin wasn't properly generating in every block type.
-Tuned iron to be harder to find near the surface.
-Increased drop rate of wood logs from trees.
-Updated art for Kalite.
-Added wood and stone hatches.
-Added wood and stone trap doors.
-Added wood, stone, bronze, iron, steel and rutile spikes.
This week I'm going to do a pass on terrain art. Now that you can see them with lights, they definitely need some visual treatment. Kalite is the only one I had time to update, so you'll notice blocks like Ember Rock, Ridgestone, Sandstone, etc, look like butt. I'm going to fix that!
As well, I wanted to spend the week focusing on various issues people have been encountering. Mostly minor or QoL things that have been stacking up while I implement newer features.
That's all for now. Have a great weekend!
Waylon