Map is the new black

Hello friends! It’s been awfully quiet here without the biweekly appearance of patch notes. I get that. We’ve been busy ripping the game apart and trying to patch it all together. One could argue that we’ve succeeded in doing so, but we still have lots to do. 

What has been done so far is mainly throwing the old map generator in the trash and recreate it with a much more dynamic algorithm. So far we’ve been really pleased with the result but we still have a ways to go. I will tell you about the reasoning behind this next time, but seeing as the patch notes are enormously long I will keep it to a minimum this time. So you can focus on the good stuff instead. 

Until next time! 

Patch notes 535

Map

• Remade the algorithm for map generations and added additional biomes to the maps. This was done a few weeks ago and is still in progress. The goal is to achieve more diverse and randomized maps.

• Added rivers to maps. A map will typically have several rivers, connecting lakes to seas, and give players an opportunity to build Ports inland instead of placing them next to a coastline. 

• Reintroducing fertile soil! Crops planted on fertile soil will grow at an increased rate compared to crops planted on non fertile land. Level 2 soil will have a 100 % growth rate bonus and level 3 soil 200 % growth rate bonus compared to non fertile land. Fertile soil will be visually distinguished by a darker shade on the ground. Darker soil means more fertile. You can also tell by the color displayed on the ground when planting crops. 

• Since maps have become larger with greater mass of land, the total amount of minerals have been reduced by 15 %. 

Buildings

• Placement of larger buildings (3×3 blocks) is now more convenient.

• Towers now can be constructed on bridges again. 

• Placement of a fisherman’s hut should now show accurate colors. 

• Increased the speed of mining stone by 25 %. 

Units

• Vision, range & speed of all units are increased by 25 %. This is mainly to compensate for a zoomed out viewport and larger maps in general. 

• Ships can now successfully pass narrow passages

• Reduced the area of effect damage of cannons. 

Visuals

• Roads & the hero’s unit circle are no longer visible through the fog.

• Units are now easier to see on the minimap.

• Improved the graphics of tilesets.

• Added wind animations to several plants and bushes.

Other

• Increased the blast radius of grenades by 25 %.

• Fruit trees are now affected by fertile soils (apple and banana trees). 

Short summary of previous patches 

• Introduced 3×3 buildings. Some buildings now take up a larger amount of space. Previously all buildings were 2×2 blocks in size. 

• New unit: Coast Guard. Late game naval harass unit. Perfect for hunting heroes and creating a bad mood in general. 

• Made several adjustments to where minerals are placed on the map. Should now be more evenly scattered across the map.

• Made the trading NPC-port unlootable.

• Improved supply drops (more relevant items). 

• You can now only exit boats by pressing the “E” button.