Alpha15c is currently on Steam’s ‘unstable’ branch for public testing. This update fixes some important bugs and yield significant CPU usage optimizations. It also adjusts a few balance points for a better experience. I invite everyone willing to choose the unstable branch and test it out! I invite feedback in this forum thread and in the comments here.
Save compatibility: Savegames from the unmodded game will be compatible from earlier Alpha 15 versions.
Mods compatibility: Data and XML mods will be 100% compatible from earlier Alpha 15 version. The API for code mods is also unchanged, and so should remain compatible. However, since the core game has been recompiled, some mods may need to be recompiled as well before they work again. Mod authors may want to look at Alpha15c to check and prepare compatibility. (This shouldn’t require any actual code or data changes, but may require recompiling your code).
Once Alpha15c is confirmed stable, I will release it to all users. Hopefully within a day or two.
Detailed change list:
- Fix: Luciferium is not addictive; it gives the positive effect forever with no downside.
- Fix: Malari-block high never goes away.
- Optimized a bunch of pawn ticking code to be much, much faster.
- Rebalanced drugs to be a bit more profitable and a bit more more dangerous.
- Food selection algorithm prefers meals by 16 cells instead of 7.
- Fix: Game doesn’t assign short hashes if you subclass any Def class. This makes many mods impossible.
- Fix: Standing lamps and sun lamps are available without research.
- Fix 2618: On Linux, system language can break the game.
- Fix: Raiders can steal during tutorial.
- Fix 2620: Learning Helper: Items remain after save-scum.
- Fix 2611: Scenario ‘Can’t Hunt’ etc doesn’t work.
- Translations update.
- Some other misc minor fixes, rebalancings and text changes.
September 1st, 2016 - 1:36 am
What does “Fix: Game doesn’t assign short hashes if you subclass any Def class. This makes many mods impossible.” mean to us? Is this going to break mods going forward, intentionally?
September 1st, 2016 - 1:46 am
@Gslarmour
I think that means that mods were broken in the previous patch, and this new one is fixing it. Like how it says “Fix 2618: On Linux, system language can break the game.” They’re not adding that, they’re fixing it.
September 1st, 2016 - 3:40 am
Any way to disable some notifications? I’m not finding the “minor/major break risk” notification useful – actually it’s a little too intrusive and I’d like to disable it.
September 1st, 2016 - 4:37 am
I left a comment on reddit saying I would upload a save about the food thing, but since then (and having this update applied) I haven’t seen any bad food decisions despite spending two hours basically monitoring all kitchen traffic for my bug post. Maybe it was perception bias in earlier A15s, but I can say I think you’ve got the cure after watching hundreds of eating actions with flawless meal selection.
Of course if I do see it act up again I’ll send a save but sincerely thanks for clearing this up!
September 1st, 2016 - 4:43 am
Sean – Glad to hear it 🙂
Austin – I’m afraid not now.
September 1st, 2016 - 4:51 am
“Fix: Standing lamps and sun lamps are available without research.”
I seem to recall being able to build standing lamps and sun lamps without research before the patch, and after this patch, still can. Was this just for tribal tech starts?
September 1st, 2016 - 5:03 am
I actually find the notification of minor/major break risk very useful. Helps to alert me to mood problems before they snowball. Also, it gives me some motivation to improve conditions.
However, the audio cue can get a bit… annoying. Especially if it’s a transitory risk of a minor break caused by something unpleasant like a dirty room.
September 1st, 2016 - 1:24 pm
Addressing to: ‘Fix: Luciferium is not addictive; it gives the positive effect forever with no downside.’
I have a pawn who was already addicted to luciferium (before I succeeded to recruit him) and at the moment (as a part of the colony) he is running on a last piece of that drug. An actual description of luciferium says that when after 5-6 days his addiction bar runs out and there will be no drug available for him – he will go crazy and eventually die.
My question is: if I’ll wait those few days, until Alpha 15c will be available, after loading a save – that addicted pawn will be free from his addiction? In other words – his addiction bar will disappear?
September 1st, 2016 - 2:21 pm
By the way, if I understood that luciferium fix in an opposite way – then there is nothing to fix, because that drug is already addictive. However there is no withdrawal from it at the moment, so if you guys (developers) want to change it – go ahead. I’d rather go through some unpleasant period of withdrawal with that pawn – instead of watching him die, because the drug is not available.
September 1st, 2016 - 7:06 pm
On the topic of Luciferium:
The way it is supposed to work:
If a colonist is told to take Luciferium, then they are addicted to it forever. If they do not take it every 5 to 6 days, they will begin going into berserk rage. At the end of what is called “withdrawal” for other addictions, the colonist then dies.
The way it actually works in A15B:
A colonist takes a single Luciferium pill. The bonuses are applied. Addiction is not applied. The colonist will not go through withdrawal. The bonuses remain forever. No further Luciferium is required.
What this means in A15B:
In A15B, this means that you can give every colonist a massive boost, with no bad effects, ever.
What this means in A15C:
Luciferium will work as intended. Whether or not colonists that have already taken Luciferium in A15B will then require Luciferium in A15C, I do not know. Colonists who take Luciferium in A15C will require a dose every 5-6 days, however.
September 1st, 2016 - 8:26 pm
Alright, thanks for clearing that up. So there is no reason for me to wait for a stable version of Alpha 15c, because it will work as it is now – which is:
In a first Alpha 15 release (ver. 0.15.1279) a pirate raided me who have been already addicted to luciferium, he has that addiction bar and 3 pieces of drug in his inventory.
I defeated and recruited him. I’ve learned that as a colonist he need to take luciferium because his addiction bar won’t go away and of course when he will run out of that drug – he will die.
So I restricted luciferium only for him and I didn’t even bother to try that on other pawns.
I updated the game to Alpha 15b (ver. 0.15.1280), but it didn’t change anything – he is still addicted. I think because a game spawned that character with addiction bar already.
Anyway, luciferium works in my gameplay as originally intended (because of that situation) and to keep him alive – I need to get that drug from a trader, or hoping that further raiders will have it.
September 1st, 2016 - 11:11 pm
I study robotics, am totally into AI stuff. Your game is the best. It was best even a few versions ago, around 2014, even then I felt like it was surpassing stuff like Peter Molyneux’s Dungeon Keeper (1 and 2), and Black and White. Overall better than Dwarf Fortress. Overall better than Planetbase, Maia, Prison Architct, FTL.
Everythig I hoped for in this game is coming true. Finally the game is so great I can fit my remaining hopes and things that I have in my head for years into in one comment! 🙂
Tl;dr;
Pls use existing mechanics (or you waiting till beta or later?) to provide more variety. Some simple even recolored content variants (equipment) varied by resource requirements (requiring many different resources)/beauty/power output etc. That’s it. Like: why the sandbags cost only steel instead of like, cloth? You could totally build a wind turbine out of sandbags, as it requires only steel like … most of stuff. Why not require sth else too?
Full:
I got some advice for modders here, too…
So, to let it go:
Stuff I like better than anything in any game ever – cooperation with modders when desigining new content – amazing. Adressing issues brought up by community/modders and implementing them in game – auto hunting, helping guests, travelling merchants and tons of other stuff! – yup, it’s amazing too.
I tested hundreds mods and made some for myself, and I totally must point out that most of them (more than 90%) are deprecated, or simply not needed anymore, as the features are finally in game! It has never happened to any game before to that extent in my opinion. I won’t list these mods, there’s too many! Hovewer I’m still secretly hoping for more mechanoids and cotton-needs-to-be-processed-to-cloth these are the only two I miss now which I find lore firendly. (more guns mods or prepare carefully are nice to, but not necessairly lore friendly)
But… Can we expect updates that will add more variety by simple means? Using exsting old mechanics: xml copy, recolored or slightly modified graphics. It is a subject of many simple mods, but only a few are balanced and lore friendly – most of them don’t utilize power of resource requirements, charging 100 wood or steel for anything, and I have to mod them myself for me and my girlfriend, so they’re balanced and fun.
Hm… Or. I guess the ‘alpha’ phase is just not supposed to focus on new content is that it?
Same with resource prices of ingame objects. Even modders don’t see it – some modder releases a nice nuclear generator with lore firendly graphics – he spent some time doing it to look like ingame art – and then it turns out that it costs steel only and produces less power than wind turbine. – And again noone complains, cause it’s not game breaking – and I just mod it out for myself, to make it more real.
I was wondering if the resource requirements in game were a placeholder, but they don’t change much from version to version and appear to be simple. Modders follow it, and its sad that it became a standard – prices tend to be random, and mostly consist of resource.
Totally liked the addition of components though – a step in the right direction!!!
(Yup there’s three of dem exclaimation marks there)
It would be fun if one construction required 3 or 4 different rsources, and you had to choose between available structures based more on what kinds of stuff you have, not just the quantity of steel. I’m not fan of things like bunch of steel only to build some complex machinery – it doesn’t feel so special then, like it could be made of several sandbags. Yup, come on, sandbags made of steel instead of cloth? I always mod this myself out when new version comes out I just ugh… I can’t stand it! And I’ve never seen anyone complaining about it! xD
Or the floors – they have different looks, but you know, look at their requirements: Some variety to price vs beauty or different proportions of wood and steel as requirements together would be nice:) Some modder created tons of floors with different nice lore firendly graphics. Yet they all had the same price of wood and one piece of limestone which looked in xml like a bug, and made no sense, yet again noone complaied and I modded the prices out for myself and my gf.
It would be fun to have at least little silver or plasteel requirements (1-5) on some less complex equipment too to make you use some means (trade, mine, recycle, discover) to get it, instead of having to spend lots of steel on it. So I got to think If I need some weaker reactors with steel and uranium, or a larger one with less uranium, but some plasteel and silver too. I always mod this out for myself too, and It works nice:) – just my opinion though, like this whole comment:)
The resource requirements is a nice mechanism that makes players do things, yet it has not been used to its full potential (that’s how I see it, but maybe it’s on purpose?). I even used to mod the craftable medicine so it would require xerigium, a bit of cloth (2-5), a bit of silver (1) and a bit of steel (1).
Cause, why not? Looks real, not too much of a hassle to get it anyways.
Never seen this aproach in game or mods though. The modders don’t care, yet I see that it is one of the things that drive the game.
Love the game, promise I won’t whine about stuff again,
srsly I’m not writing nything else, it’s my only comment and I didnt’t ever post on forum either, it’s just something that’s been in my head for years! and I will play the game anyways like I have for years, great work!
September 1st, 2016 - 11:59 pm
Indeed Marc, that is the way it will be in A15C.
I did not realize that they were actually addicted, as spawned by the game.
However, yes.
In A15C, any colonist that takes Luciferium will be like that colonist you mentioned, and will eventually attack other pawns and animals, and eventually die, without more Luciferium.
Of course, if you have the tech, you could always put the colonist in a cryptosleep casket until you can get more Luciferium…
September 2nd, 2016 - 8:11 am
Yes, a cryptosleep caskets! I totally forgot that can be also an option. Though, his addiction bar is around 60% now and as I mentioned – he is on his last piece of luciferium. Anyway, I think I’ll push the colony to research caskets for him, maybe I’ll be lucky and will dodge that running addiction bar. Also, optionally there is an ancient danger room out there – but nah.. too dangerous – the best gun that I have at the moment is a poor quality shotgun.
Thanks for your advice.
September 2nd, 2016 - 9:40 am
Hey, would you please remove my earlier comment (and possibly this one too). I see theres a community on reddit, and I put wall of text here like a douche instead, sorry:)
September 2nd, 2016 - 11:57 pm
Marc, no problem. I like helping people with that sort of thing. I myself have been playing for a few months now, and even though I have a fairly good memory, I still forget some of the things I can do to keep colonists alive.
September 8th, 2016 - 4:30 pm
How to I re download the game for this update?
September 16th, 2016 - 10:44 pm
@Tom
Just use the same download link. The download link is always the same for every version, even if there isn’t email.