ATLAS Patch 514.3 It's Time to Get Trading!

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Trade Functionality is finally here, and with it a Wipe for a fresh new start! To kick things off with a surprise, we will be having 3x Harvest Rates now until next Tuesday!

Now that it’s almost all together, let’s review how the Trade System functions. The Trade system is intended as a means to get resources flowing across the map, facilitating competition over resources and the access to trade. Every grid has 1-4 Sea Forts that act as control points which give players access to Trade Routes that let players connect what they are producing with what others are, establishing Trades in an automated fashion:

All trading is automated - the Market will look at your configurations, and check the Warehouses of connected Markets to see if Trade conditions are fulfilled. If the conditions are met, a Trade Ship will be automatically created and set to embark on its destination. Players do not necessarily need to control a Sea Fort to be able to be able trade. However blockading Trade routes is possible if a Company controls all the Sea Forts on a server that route must go through. Companies that control Sea Forts may also tax Trade Ships that pass through its server, although Trade Ships will always choose to use the Sea Fort with the lower tax rate.

Remember that at this stage, all Trades will be virtual, so any Trade that is started will reach its destination Market. Testing is still ongoing on the NPC Trade Ships that will eventually carry the goods. Now’s the perfect time to take advantage of these guaranteed Trades to get the gold rolling in and the economy moving! Although players won’t be able to attack your Shipments for now, you will still want to pay attention to the Random Events that may occur! You never know what you will end up getting… or losing. However, the chance of higher spoils may make the Trade more than worth while! All Random events are virtual and are resolved upon completion of the Trade.

Shaping Gameplay and Progression

With the Trade Functionality and the ability to gain income from it now in place, the dynamics of the gameplay will start to shift, as will progression and the balancing surrounding it. The economy of the game will be centered around the Trade System. Although the other ways to obtain gold remain, utilizing the Trade System will be the primary way to earn income, whether you are actively Trading, controlling Sea Forts, raiding Sea Forts, or later - attacking ships.

There was a lot of noise surrounding the increase in gold cost to build higher tier ships and its pay-off. The introduction of the Trade System is meant to shake things up with the current state of play. We are not balancing our changes surrounding what was previously established and these new conditions in play should endeavor players to new strategies. As we mentioned, we are starting with very conservative numbers with this first pass of the Trade System and will be making adjustments as needed. Future mechanics or changes to ATLAS may continue to change up the gameplay and progression in the game as well. We are striving to find a balance for good and varying gameplay at all levels. We know that we are not there yet and it is important to stress that we are still in the middle of defining and refining the core gameplay and mechanics, so sometimes the waters are going to be pretty rough.

What's left for 2020?

Although Trade Functionality has made it, we still need to fully implement the rest of the system. As we previously mentioned, the NPC Trade Ships that players will be able to interact with are still undergoing development and testing. Next week will likely be a smaller maintenance update consisting of some fixes and any balancing adjustments if we see fit.

The new Ships for Gold system is also on the way, and the first release of it will see the Ramming Galley hitting the shores… or more likely hitting your ships. Other specialized ships are also in the works. These new Ships will utilize a modular building system and exist alongside the current Ship system.

Lastly, the other big goal we have for the remainder of the year is an overhaul of the Claiming system. We aren’t quite happy with the Island Claiming system and how it’s currently functioning. We will be reworking the Claim system based off of laying down individual claim flags in an area again. However, we are looking to take it into a different direction. We are still in the early stages of the design and fleshing out our ideas. As we get closer to making this change, we will bring it to further discussion.

In summary, players can expect the completed Trade System, an introduction to the New Ship System, and a rework on the Claiming System. Again, all three of these items will continue to be tweaked and balanced. We are continuously shaping the game! This is also only what’s immediately on the table, and there is still more to come in 2021! Please stay tuned. :)

Released Patch Notes

v514.3

Trade

• Connected trade routes will now automatically trade between each other
  • Every few minutes a Market will look for a potential trade
    • Prioritizes Trade Routes in order
    • Prioritizes Trade Offers in order

  • When both Markets in a Trade Route have compatible Offers, a Trade is initiated
    • Example:
      • Market A and B have a Trade Route
      • Market A offers 1 Lightwood for every 2.0 Thatch
      • Market B offers 1 Root for every 0.4 Wood
      • If Market A tries to find a trade, they can find one for 1 Lightwood for every 2.25 Thatch
      • If both Warehouses have enough resources, the shipment is created.

    
    
  • Trade Offers remain active after use, and can be part of more trades as long as there are enough resources in the Warehouse
    
  • Currently all shipments are virtual and do not generate Trading Ships that can be attacked. (This is in testing and iteration and expected in a later patch)
    
  
  

Crafting

• Reduced the output of crafting Gunpowder from 2 to 1
• Reduced the output of crafting Blasting Powder from 2 to 1

Market

• Updated the Structure Settings on the Market to be Reinforced Stone
  • This gives Markets increased damage resistance

• Bug Fix: Added back the ability to connect Markets to Warehouses via interaction wheel (they should still auto connect if placed near each other)
  

Resources

• Adjusted weight of many resources
  • Reduced the weight of Gold Coins by 50%
  • Reduced the weight of Gems by 75%
  • Reduced the weight of Wood by 40%
  • Reduced the weight of Sap by 60%
  • Reduced the weight of Crystals by 60%
  • Reduced the weight of Metal by 33%
  • Increased the weight of Oil by 2x
  • Increased the weight of Fiber by 8x
  • Increased the weight of Flint by 2.4x
  • Increased the weight of Keratanoid by 5x
  • Increased the weight of Gunpowder by 1.5x
  • Increased the weight of Organic Paste by 2x
  • Increased the weight of Fire Gel by 2.5x
  • Increased the weight of Blasting Powder by 2.5x

Sea Forts

• Reduced the radius inside Sea Forts for claiming from 2.5 to 1.5 meters
• Increased Max Tax rate for Sea Forts from 30% to 50%
• Sea Forts added to D8
• Sea Fort Taxes can now be set via 10% stepped increments in a Set Tax Wheel Submenu
• Sea Fort structures no longer respawn when an enemy is nearby

Ships

• Increased Gold cost for crafting ships
  • Schooner: 50 Gold → 5,000 Gold
  • Brigantine: 250 Gold → 25,000 Gold
  • Galleon: 500 Gold → 50,000 Gold

Warehouse

• Reduced Placement Prevention Radius of Warehouse from 800m to 600m
  • This increases amount of warehouses that can fit in an area by about 75%
  • We're looking at how to best allow multiple companies to have warehouses nearby in the future

• Reduced Transport Radius of Warehouse from 500m to 450m
  

Misc

• Increased the max stack size of Cannon Balls from 50 to 100
• Bug Fix: Explosive Barrels can no longer deal damage in Freeports
• Bug Fix: Stack size for Fuel items in Warehouse and Farmhouse inventory is no longer affected by the Fuel Slot stack size

Known Issues

• If you create a trade offer and then edit its resources, the Market UI doesn't update and may be out of sync with what's actually there
• Resources awarded by Trade Events may not be delivered or logged correctly
• Trade Log may incorrectly state which resource types are sent and received
• Trade Route income should be multiplied by the Trade Route's distance
• Editing the Tax Rate on Sea Forts requires you to manually exit the interaction wheel
• No feedback is given when a Market doesn't have a valid Warehouse to connect to

Final Note

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)

Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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