Greetings, Viceroys!
We're excited to present to you the Update 1.5 which introduces free new content for both the base game and the Keepers of the Stone DLC.
[previewyoutube=hMQBCz3Zvtg;full][/previewyoutube]
Here's a short breakdown of the most important features:
Base game:
- New World Event: Forsaken Town - rebuild a settlement that's already in progress
- New resource: Salt
- New orders and a perk related to Salt
- 2 new Forest Mysteries
- And more
Keepers of the Stone DLC:
- New Biome: Ashen Thicket - collect Thunderblight Shards available only in this region and use them to craft your own Cornerstones
- 14 new music tracks
- Frog unlock level reduced to 9
- Feeling Lucky deed overhaul
- Rebalanced resource requirements in the Strider Port
Many of these changes came directly from your feedback and reviews, showing how much your input helps shape the game. Please continue sharing your feedback and thoughts -- we're listening!
For more information, please check our developer notes and the full changelog below.
Zitat:
Important: Due to numerous systemic changes, the update will close the ongoing settlements to prevent potential issues. As compensation, you’ll receive Citadel Resources equal to winning that game and a Royal Resupply (you may decline this reward if you prefer). Your Cycle progress and meta progress will remain intact.
If you're desperate to finish your settlement though, for a limited time you can access a special Steam branch with the previous version 1.4. You can find more information about it at the end of the update notes. However, we recommend that you consider this option as a last resort.
If you're desperate to finish your settlement though, for a limited time you can access a special Steam branch with the previous version 1.4. You can find more information about it at the end of the update notes. However, we recommend that you consider this option as a last resort.
STEAM AUTUMN SALE IS LIVE!
For a limited time, you can get Against the Storm and the Keepers of the Stone DLC at a discount:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1336490/Against_the_Storm/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3075500/Against_the_Storm__Keepers_of_the_Stone/
You can also complete your collection with the Complete Bundle:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/45551/Against_the_Storm_Complete/
DEVELOPER NOTES
Today's update introduces a wealth of exciting new content for both the base game and the Keepers of the Stone DLC. This includes a brand new biome, a world event, new cornerstones, an all-new mineable resource, a host of UI improvements, and numerous balance changes inspired by community feedback. Without further ado, let's dive in!
Let's start with the general changes that are available to all players (regardless of DLC ownership), and then move on to the DLC-specific additions.
Changes to the base game
The highlight of update 1.5 is the new World Event: The Forsaken Town. In this event, you’ll take over a settlement abandoned by a cowardly Viceroy (and let’s be honest, who hasn’t abandoned a settlement now and then?). You’ll start with a partially built town, some cornerstones already selected, a few active orders, and several glades open. You might even discover that the previous owner left a bit of a mess, for example by handling a few glade events poorly. Good luck, Viceroy - you’ll need it!
Our main goals with this new event type are to make the early game more varied (in terms of blueprint choices and build order), to encourage players to explore different strategies, and to add more variety to the Blightstorm cycle. We were also curious to see how it would feel to “inherit” someone else's save in your own game. A small side note: please be aware that despite its increased spawn rate, Forsaken Town is still one of many World Events and Modifiers that can spawn on the World Map, so there is a chance you may not encounter it right away.
The second big change in this update is the addition of Salt - a new resource you can acquire in the mine. It can be used in a variety of recipes, most notably in Paste (as a substitute for Dye), Jerky (as a substitute of fuel), and Waterskins (as a substitute of Oil and Meat).
With this addition, we aimed to make mining a more interesting and useful part of gameplay while also making some weaker recipes more accessible. For example, recent discussions have focused on the viability of certain flour recipes - especially Biscuits. In response, we’ve added Salt (as an alternative ingredient) and Eggs to the recipe. And while this isn’t a straightforward buff, we’re curious to see how it impacts the overall perception of this food. Of course, there are more changes in the pipeline that might further influence the balance here, but we’ll talk about those another time.
With the addition of Salt, there’s plenty of new content tied to it: new mining veins in certain biomes, new orders focused on Salt, a perk that boosts its production, and a new type of Rainpunk Drill that spawns Salt veins in small glades.
On a separate note, this update also introduces two new Forest Mysteries, a new Epic Cornerstone, and several long-awaited technical improvements. For starters, workers will now choose the closest warehouse based on proper pathfinding rather than a straight-line distance. Additionally, idle scouts will no longer stand around the Hearth if one of them is already carrying the last item to complete an event.
Lastly, update 1.5 brings several UI improvements, such as a “randomize” button next to the settlement name text box, a tooltip explaining what a Royal Resupply is, DLC specialization tags being hidden if you don’t own the DLC, a “Default Bait” setting in the options menu, building categories in the in-game encyclopedia, and many more.
One major UI/UX update is the unification of certain terms related to resource acquisition. Since the introduction of fishing in 1.4, there’s been some confusion about what counts as “gathering” and why certain effects don’t apply to Fishing Huts. This stemmed from the game not explicitly distinguishing between these terms. With today’s patch, we’ve updated tooltips, descriptions, labels, and alerts to clearly differentiate “gathering nodes” from “fishing ponds”, as well as “gatherers” from “fishermen” and “woodcutters”.
As always, this update includes plenty of other changes and a wide array of bug fixes. You can find all the details in the full changelog below.
Changes to Keepers of the Stone
Now, let’s move on to the changes specific to the Keepers of the Stone DLC. But before diving into the details, we want to share some thoughts on why we’re adding more content to a DLC post-launch.
We released Keepers of the Stone almost exactly two months ago, and since then, we’ve been carefully reading every bit of feedback we’ve received. Overall, it’s been a time of great joy, seeing so many of you explore the Coastal Grove and build homes for the Frogs. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who trusted us and gave it a try.
It's also been a time of reflection for us. As we analyzed your feedback and read all the reviews, it quickly became clear that the amount of content didn't meet the expectations of many players. Much of what was added with update 1.4 wasn't DLC-specific, which made Keepers of the Stone feel like a weaker value proposition on its own. While we stand by our decision not to tie large, game-wide systems to DLC, we agree that Keepers of the Stone needed a little more attention. So with patch 1.5, we hope to change that.
The biggest new addition is, of course, the Ashen Thicket - a once-thriving forest of giant spruce trees, now a desolate wasteland devastated by relentless industrial exploitation. In this new biome, you’ll discover the Cornerstone Forge, a unique structure that lets you craft your own Cornerstones. However, crafting requires Thunderblight Shards - rare crystals buried deep underground, which you’ll need to excavate through extensive mining.
To create a Cornerstone, you’ll need to choose a condition and an effect. The effect will stack based on how many times the condition is triggered. Both conditions and effects are assigned a random star rating. You can optionally add a penalty to boost the rating of either the condition or the effect. Finally, you’ll get to choose an icon and name your new Cornerstone. You will be able to craft up to 3 Cornerstone per settlement.
When designing this new biome, we took a lot of inspiration from spell-crafting systems found in other games, like for example The Elder Scrolls. While we couldn't go as deep as a full RPG might, we wanted to somehow capture the essence of creating your own "spells". At the same time, we tied this mechanic to mining, focusing the Ashen Thicket on this particular method of resource extraction (which is why it is the only biome with all three types of mineable veins). Combined with the introduction of Salt, this felt like a good way to make mining a more engaging and rewarding gameplay style.
But that's not the only change coming to the Keepers of the Stone DLC. In reviewing player feedback, we found a number of balance-related points that we agreed with, and wanted to address in update 1.5.
First, let’s talk about the Strider Port. With update 1.5, we’ve rebalanced the resource requirements for expeditions, reducing the overall cost by around 10-15%. We also adjusted how costs scale - rather than increasing by a flat amount every two expeditions, they now rise more gradually, with a small increase each time the Strider returns. Additionally, the thresholds for requiring new resources have been pushed back, so the need for complex food and service goods starts later. Finally, the cost increase for higher levels of investment in expeditions has been lowered.
These changes should make acquiring blueprints in this biome more manageable. We’re aware there are still other aspects of the Strider Port that could be adjusted, such as expedition times or reward quality, but for now, we’ll observe how the cost changes affect gameplay and go from there. If the new requirements don’t improve things, we’ll revisit the balance in the future.
Two other points frequently raised in community discussions were the acquisition of the Feeling Lucky achievement and the level at which Frogs are unlocked. In hindsight, we agree that these were overtuned. So with update 1.5, we’ve lowered the level at which Frogs become available, from 13 to 9. For a brief time, we also considered unlocking them immediately once the DLC is active, regardless of level, but ultimately decided against it. Frogs are a bit more complex and “rule-bending” than other species, so we felt they should remain a level up unlock.
As for the Feeling Lucky achievement, we have decided to remove the Homestead requirement, so players will only need to find the Rainpunk Foundry blueprint in the Coastal Grove. For those of you who have already gone through hell and back to complete the old version - don't worry. You'll still have it, but it's been changed to a hidden deed and renamed to "Feeling Extremely Lucky".
Lastly, there are also some smaller, yet still noteworthy, content additions to the Keepers of The Stone DLC: a new Frog-exclusive Cornerstone (which provides a Wildcard blueprint selection for upgrading Frog houses), new deeds and achievements tied to the Ashen Thicket biome, and a new decoration.
For even more isnights, check the recording of our recent developer livestream:
[previewyoutube=qaK2FWQB7DE;full][/previewyoutube]
A big thank you
Aaaand that's it! Well, not really, there are many more additions and changes, all of which are listed below in the full changelog. We hope you enjoy playing this new update as much as we enjoyed making it. Thank you all for being part of this amazing community and for sharing your reviews, feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for new content.
May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games
UPDATE 1.5 CHANGELOG
Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.
Changes marked with ???? are related to the Against the Storm: Keepers of the Stone DLC.
New content and features
- ⚡???? Added a new biome - the Ashen Thicket. [list]
- In this biome, you start next to an ancient Cornerstone Forge. There, you can craft 3 Experimental Cornerstones in each game.
- To craft an Experimental Cornerstone, you will need a Thunderblight Shard - a rare, lightning-infused crystal obtained through mining in the Ashen Thicket.
- To create a Cornerstone, you must choose a condition and a reward/effect. The effect stacks based on how many times the condition is triggered. Both conditions and effects have a random rating (stars). You can choose an optional penalty to increase the rating of either the condition or the effect (indicated by a line connecting the penalty to one of them). Finally, you can choose an icon and name your new Cornerstone.
- There are two biome passives in the Ahsen Thicket.[list]
- Deeply Hidden Riches - Gain a Thunderblight Shard for every 40/80/120 vein charges mined (Copper Ore, Coal, and Salt). You can receive up to 3 shards, each requiring more resources to be mined.
- Royal Mining Operation - The crown is investing heavily in the region's industrial development. For every 80 units of Copper Ore, Coal, and Salt used in crafting, an automated rainpunk cart will be assigned to one of your warehouses.
- Trees: Wood, Resin, Berries, Sea Marrow
- Nodes: Roots, Vegetables, Eggs, Fish, Algae, Plant Fiber, Leather, Clay
- Ore: Copper Ore, Coal, Salt
- This World Event requires players to play a settlement that is already in progress, started by another Viceroy. This means that there are already some blueprints selected, some cornerstones picked, some orders active, some glades discovered, a few buildings built, etc.
- The choice in this world event is to go immediately or to negotiate the price. Choosing the “Negotiate the price” option will cause the settlement to deteriorate further, but the reward for completing it will be greater.
- This event has a slightly higher spawn rate than other events. Our main goal with it is to add more variety to Blightstorm Cycles, shake up the early game, and create more interesting games that can lead to trying different strategies.
- Salt is obtained in the Mine and requires Salt veins.
- The byproduct of Salt veins is Sea Marrow (with a 30% drop rate).
- Added Salt to multiple existing recipes.[list]
- Biscuits
- Paste (as a substitute for Dye)
- Crystalized Dew
- Incense
- Jerky (as a substitute of fuel)
- Waterskins (as a substitute of Meat and Oil)
- Salt Miner
- Salty Delivery
- Salt Fever
- Salt Pick - +1 to Salt production. Gain an additional Salt every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).
- Fish Flood (Drizzle) - +3 to Fish production. Gain an additional Fish every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).
- Shedding Season (Drizzle) - +3 to Leather production. Gain an additional Leather every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).
- Fish Scraps (Epic, yearly) - For every 100 units of Fish and Scales used in crafting, gain +1 to bait production when converting a Pack of Crops into Ground Bait in a fishing hut.
- ???? Overzealous Architects - Driven by boundless ambition, Frog architects can't resist sketching plans even in their spare time. For every 5 fully upgraded Frog Houses, you will receive a random blueprint. After 4 blueprints, this Cornerstone will disappear.
- The Ashen Thicket (platform achievement) - Win a game on the Ashen Thicket biome.
- Miner's Paradise - Win a game in the Ashen Thicket biome, and on Viceroy difficulty (or higher).
- The Emberwright (platform achievement) - Create 20 Experimental Cornerstones in the Ashen Thicket.
- Industrial Chimney - unlocked by completing the Miner’s Paradise deed.
Balance
- ⚡???? Revamped the Feeling Lucky deed.[list]
- The old Feeling Lucky deed was renamed to Feeling Extremely Lucky and it’s now a hidden deed, not tied to platform achievements.
- In its place, we added a new version of the Feeling Lucky deed, which requires players to find just the Rainpunk Foundry blueprint in the Coastal Forest.
- Coal - from 40 seconds to 35 seconds.
- Copper Ore - from 40 seconds to 30 seconds.
- Reduced the total amount of resources required for all expeditions by an average of 10-15%.
- Resource requirements now increase by a small amount every time an expedition is sent, rather than increasing by a larger amount every two expeditions.
- The requirement for complex food starts one expedition later than before. As a result, the first 3 expeditions can be sent out using only raw resources.
- The requirement for service goods starts one expedition later than before. As a result, there is one less expedition for service goods and one more expedition for complex food only).
- Resource requirements will now increase by a smaller amount with each level of additional investment for a higher chance of extra loot.
- Based on community feedback, we have decided to lower the level requirements for unlocking certain species (specifically Frogs, which were previously unlocked at level 13 and will now be unlocked at level 9).
- In order to make this change, we also had to rearrange many of the building unlocks, as they are inextricably tied to the species. For example, playing with Foxes but not having access to the Beanery and Tea House would be very punishing.
- These changes are a little too complicated to describe in plain text, so we decided to put them in a table.
Click to access the text version of the table
UX/UI improvements
- ⚡ Added a randomize button next to the settlement name text box in the Embarkation Screen. This text box will now also show a randomized name from the start.
- ⚡ Changing the production limit by typing a number in the text box no longer requires pressing Enter to confirm. The change is automatically applied once the focus shifts from the text box.
- ⚡ Added a description explaining the possible reward choices when hovering the cursor over a Royal Resupply icon.
- ⚡ Reworded several effects, tooltips, descriptions, and labels to better differentiate between gathering and fishing.[list]
- Resource nodes/deposits found in glades are now called “gathering nodes”.
- Ponds are now called “fishing ponds”.
- Ore/veins are now always called “veins”.
- Camps that collect resources from gathering nodes (Trappers’ Camp, Foragers’ Camp, Herbalists’ Camp, Stonecutters’ Camp, Harvesters’ Camp) are now always referred to as “gathering camps”.
- Fishing Huts and Woodcutters’ Camps are not considered gathering camps and are labeled and referred to accordingly in descriptions.
- All effects and perks tied to either gathering and fishing have been updated to use this new type of labeling.
- All alerts, tooltips, and villager statuses tied to fishing were updated to reflect this change.
- Same thing goes for the Stormforged Cornerstones in the Forsaken Altar.
Bug fixes
Due to Steam character limit, we've put the list of all 53 bug fixes on our website:
Learn more
Other
- ⚡ Improved the overall performance and stability of the game.
- ⚡ Ruins in special glades (partially destroyed settlements, etc.) will now spawn with their entrance pointed towards the road most of the time.
- ⚡ Improved the pathfinding of the Treasure Stag. It should now more reliably choose closer glades.
- ⚡???? Added 14 new music tracks available exclusively in the new Ashen Thicket biome.
- Replaced a few icons with new custom assets.[list]
- Alarm Bells (cornerstone)
- Ancient Pact (cornerstone)
- Bone Tools (cornerstone)
- Flame Amulets (cornerstone)
- From the Shadows (cornerstone)
- Mark of the Sealed Ones (cornerstone)
- Queen’s Gift (cornerstone)
- Sahilda’s Secret Cookbook (cornerstone)
- Zhorg’s Secret Ingredient (cornerstone)
- Nest Eggs (restored event effect)
- Termite Nest (restored event effect)
- Unique Ally (restored event effect)
- Clothing (need category)
Known issues
- In some languages, the DLC welcome screen doesn’t include information that the Ashen Thicket biome was also added to the DLC. However, the biome will be generated on the World Map once you start a new cycle.
The current game version is 1.5.2.
SETTLEMENT SAVES & LEGACY BRANCHES INFORMATION
As with all major updates, numerous systemic changes require us to close the ongoing settlements to avoid potential issues. As compensation, you’ll receive extra Citadel Resources and Royal Resupply. On a community request, we also added an option to decline that reward.
(Steam only) However, for those of you who weren’t able to finish their settlements and would very much like to do so, we also prepared a separate Legacy Branch 1.4 where we’ll keep the previous version available for a limited time.
If you want to finish your current settlement, follow the instructions below prior to playing with the new Update (1.5).
[olist]
Warning: Legacy Branch 1.4 is not backward-compatible (returning to it from version 1.5 can cause loading problems) and will be closed later this year. Once it’s closed, Steam won’t be able to load the game unless you switch to the primary “None” branch, so we recommend doing it as soon as possible.
PREVIOUS UPDATES
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/7371918503944271593
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4665256208709904287
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4665256208709775238
