Greetings Viceroys!
We recently celebrated a major milestone for Against the Storm (thank you all for your love!), but we're not resting on our laurels. We're currently working on the next free update teased in the post-release roadmap - Update 1.3 - and it's finally time to share some sneak peeks with you.
Here's what's coming:
- New glade event
- Hub system iteration (read more below)
- Precision Tree Marking Mode - cylinders on the grid
- New perks
- Balance changes
- And many more
The update is expected to arrive sometime in May. Yes, that's a long time to wait, but to sweeten the deal, we've just released an experimental update that lets you try out some of the new features coming in Update 1.3.
The biggest change is the introduction of the Species Hubs system - an enhancement to the existing Hubs feature. We're particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on this system once you've tried it out.
But first, let's take a look at why we're making this change.
Experimental Update - Species Hubs
From the moment we implemented the Hubs system in version 0.28, we were aware of two inherent problems with the system.
First, from a gameplay perspective, all hubs were the same and offered almost no interesting choices (other than when to pursue the next hub and when to upgrade the old one).
Second, there were several scenarios where the hub system actively encouraged very tedious and boring micromanagement in the form of manually distributing population and decorations between hubs. There were many instances where the best way to get a few temporary resolve points was to dismantle a large and vibrant hub and spread the population all over the map.
This set of issues merged with our ever-going efforts to make runs as different from each other as possible. With new species on the horizon, we are also looking for new ways to further differentiate species.
Thus, we’re introducing Species Hubs - a way to fix existing problems within the Hub system while providing more ways to plan and build around the species in each settlement.
From now on:
- The population requirements for hubs will be slightly lower.
- Each species can be assigned its own hub.
- The last Hub upgrade (Level 3 - District) has been replaced with a species-specific effect that reflects the specialization of a given species.
- Only the population of a matching species housed in advanced houses will count toward the hub's upgrades.
While this makes the hubs a little harder to level up early on, the changes introduce deeper strategic decisions about which species to focus on and when to move from shelters to advanced housing.
Significantly stronger, last stage upgrade also helps to further differentiate between species and provides additional rewards for aggressive specialization.
The first iteration of Level 3 species-specific effects are:
- Human District - All farms produce more goods.
- Beaver District - All trade routes are faster.
- Lizard District - Gatherers have a higher chance of producing double yields when harvesting resource nodes.
- Harpy District - Every fulfilled service need grants more Resolve.
- Fox District - Increases the chance of doubling event loot (this doesn't apply to perks and blueprints).
Equally important, since there can only be one hub per species, these changes ensure that there's never an incentive to tear down big hubs and micro-optimize by constantly moving houses around the settlement.
This also opens up avenues for further improvements in areas that are still lacking and are often cited as weaknesses of the game, such as decoration management.
We realize that these are pretty big changes, and while there are new opportunities in the mid- and late-game, they do make early games a bit more challenging. That's why we decided to test them with the community and discuss them openly.
Additional changes
Aside from the Species Hubs, the Experimental Update also includes other features from the upcoming Update 1.3, such as:
- Embark Points and Caravan rebalance
- Blight Post upgrades rebalance
- 3 new perks
- Perks balance changes
- Housing Status tooltip (for the villagers summary panel in the left upper corner)
- Precision Tree marking mode (hold Shift while in tree marking mode)
- Seal indicators on World Map (hold Alt)
- Goods tooltip improvements
The current Experimental Branch version is 1.2.5E.
Marking Modes
Seal Indicator (hold Alt)How to play the Experimental Update
We prepared a short guide that explains the purpose of the Experimental Branch, its limitations, and how to activate it:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3210939497
Inside, you can also find a list of the available commands for the developer console.
What are we interested in?
If you decide to play the Experimental Update, please share your thoughts with us!
Primarily, we are interested in your answers to the following questions:
- How do you feel about the new Species Hubs? Are they fun?
- How would you rate the challenges posed by managing the Species Hubs?
- Is there anything that stuck out? Any moments that were especially memorable for you (good or bad)?
- Is there anything about this new system that makes the gameplay feel worse (especially more repetitive) or better (especially more diverse)?
- How do you feel about the Precision Tree Marking mode (its cylindrical shape and grid movement)?
We can’t wait to hear your impressions once you give the new Experimental Update a try! Let us know what you think in the comments section of this announcement or on the dedicated #experimental channels on our Discord.
We wish you a great time with the new update and look forward to hearing from you!
May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games
Previous Updates
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4194610392083937884
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4059501135880748462
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3963797741109388898
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/5797888151160865057
