Icarus News

[h2]EDIT: the outage appears to be resolved.[/h2][p]The outage is a steam issue.[/p][p]Please note we get no more information from steam about these things than you do.[/p][p]We only figured this out by seeing it affecting other games. This post is being written 3am my time time, why steam don’t announce this is something only they can answer.[/p][p]If you go visit the Project Zomboid forums you can see people having the same issue.[/p][p]That steam don’t announce these issues is very problematic for us, because we get the negative reviews (we already have now for this outage) for something which they cause.[/p][p]It appears to line up with a cloudflare outage, so you can monitor the status there. Once this is resolved, I recommend you restart your computer[/p][p]Dean Hall, Irritated and tired CEO[/p]

Welcome to Week 214.

This week introduces the Explorer’s Backpack, a specialised backpack available in the Workshop that’s designed to improve traversal around Icarus.

This update also marks the end of our holiday releases, along with the conclusion of the double experience event. We hope you’ve enjoyed spending time jumping in with your friends.

Finally, we take a brief look ahead to next week’s update, which will introduce several small quality-of-life improvements and fixes based on community feedback from the past few weeks.


[hr][/hr]

This week, we’re adding the Explorer’s Backpack to the Orbital Workshop. Designed for stamina and traversal, it’s ideal for planetside exploration and long journeys across Icarus.

The Explorer’s Backpack increases maximum stamina, stamina regeneration, and movement speed, while also reducing wildlife threat. As a trade-off, it uses more backpack slots than some alternatives, so inventory management is required.

With its stamina-focused bonuses, the Explorer’s Backpack enables new build options, freeing up food and gear choices for other stats. It’s a strong choice for exploration, stamina-heavy tasks, and faster traversal.


[hr][/hr]
The recent Winter Sale saw almost 1 million new prospectors arrive on Icarus, but for those who missed out on the DLC discounts we've decided to offer them for a limited time as part of a new bundle.

You can use this bundle to pick up any of the core expansions you're missing at a 33% discount. The breadth of DLC we offer allows people to scale their level of support for the project and have allowed us to keep developing the game for 4 years. There's no doubt that without this DLC, that represents almost 40% of our revenue, we would not have been able to do this for so long.

If you're looking for an excuse to invite your friends along, remember that only the host requires DLC content to make it available to everyone in multiplayer games they host so get some allies on board for that tough mission, or just invite them in to show off your base!

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/66187/
[hr][/hr]

Next we will be pushing forward with some suggested quality of life updates that have been brought up over the last few weeks. A couple of the improvements include some mission fixes and some new settings to allow quicker interaction with objects.

Many of these suggestions are voted on by the players via our Feature Upvote page.


[hr][/hr][h2]Your support makes these updates possible.[/h2]

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/66187/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/
[hr][/hr]

[h3]Changelog[/h3]
[expand]

• Ended Double XP Event
  
• Enabling and unlocking the Explorer backpack in the workshop
  

[/expand]

Welcome to Week 213.

This week we’re rolling out our new tag-based crafting system and walking through the related changes to fish recipes and crafting. These updates are aimed at making crafting more intuitive and reducing recipe clutter.

We also make some changes based on feedback from last week to do with the new mount UI - where the cargo slots where not as easily accessed as before. Also based on feedback we have made adjustments to the mammoth mounts attacks so they pack more of a punch. Finally, we have added Woolly Mammoths to the Southern Prometheus arctic so they are more accessible to players on that map.

This will also be the last week for our double XP event so jump in with some friends and grab Icarus during the steam winter sale to take advantage of this event.

We’ve also included a quick look ahead at what’s coming next week — the Explorer’s Backpack.

• Iterated on the Mount UI and restored the Cargo / Talents Tab as the new UI was not as useable when dealing with larger amounts of item storage on mounts
  
• Mammoth Mount Adjustments - Doubled stomp radius in Crushing Blow
  
• Mammoth Mount Adjustments - Double damage when performing secondary attack
  
• Buffed the Dried Fish Spoil time from 800s -> 2000s so they now last longer before spoiling
  
• Adding Wolly Mammoths to Southern Prometheus Arctic
  

[hr][/hr]

As we worked on Dangerous Horizons, we wanted to finally introduce tag-based crafting. This was primarily to address an issue we encountered when adding alternate recipes: if many recipes produce the same output but use different (yet similar) inputs, we end up needing a separate recipe entry for each item, which can make viewing recipes on a device confusing and cluttered.

For example, when we introduced 60+ types of fish in Gallileo, we no longer had a single 'fish' item - we had 60+ individual ones. Because of this, if we wanted players to be able to cook fish on a campfire, we would have needed one recipe per fish type to craft it into 'steamed fish.'

To address this during the Gallileo patch, we removed the 'steamed fish' item and replaced it with 'fish chunks', a new intermediate resource that all fish can be broken down into by right-clicking them in your inventory. While not ideal, this allowed us to retain a useful product for recipes without creating 60+ duplicate entries every time fish was needed as an ingredient.

Tag-based crafting streamlines the entire process. We can now assign a [fish] tag to any fish, allowing a recipe to accept any tagged item as input. This gives us the flexibility to make crafting smoother and more intuitive in situations like the one mentioned above and others like it.

We don’t plan to convert all of our recipes at once, but we will use tag-based crafting on a case-by-case basis where we think it’s appropriate.

If you have any suggestions for other ways we could use this system, please let us know.


[hr][/hr]

We’ve made several improvements to how fish and related recipes work, especially with the introduction of tag-based crafting. These changes should make crafting with fish more intuitive and reduce clutter in recipe lists.

Below we have summarised the major changes.

• Steamed Fish have Returned - these can now be crafted from any caught fish at campfires.
  
• Fish Chunk Conversion - Converting fish into Fish Chunks is now a recipe available on the Player as well as at the Butchery and Fishing Benches.
  
• Fillet Recipes - Saltwater and freshwater fish fillet recipes now use any fish with the [saltwater] or [freshwater] tag, instead of requiring individual recipes for each fish type.
  
• Filleting Station Update - The Filleting Station on the Fishing Bench is no longer an auto-crafter - you’ll now need to manually select recipes as now you can craft fish chunks as well as fish fillets there.
  

Originally posted by author

All existing bonuses from crafting with fish - such as weight affecting butchering outcomes - remain unchanged. This means you’ll continue to receive bonus chunks and fillets based on the fish’s weight.

The current system increases crafting output by 1 for every 3.33 kg of fish weight.

This means you’ll receive 1 freshwater fillet when butchering a fish under 3.33 kg, 2 fillets for fish under 6.66 kg, and so on. The same scaling also applies to fish chunks and saltwater fillets.

Previously, this bonus was not clearly communicated, so we’ve added a tooltip to fish-related recipes to make this behaviour more visible.

[hr][/hr]

Next week we will be introducing the Explorers backpack a new workshop item that has a focus on recovery and movement while traversing Icarus.


[hr][/hr][h2]Your support makes these updates possible.[/h2]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3315290/Icarus_Great_Hunts_Campaigns/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/
[hr][/hr]

[h3]New Content[/h3]
[expand]
- Added and unlocked Tag Based Crafting Recipes for Fish
[/expand]

Welcome to Week 212.

This week, we’re introducing juvenile woolly mammoths to Icarus. Prospectors can now encounter these massive creatures in the wild, tame them, and equip them with saddles to use as powerful mounts.

We’ve also made a number of improvements to the mount UI. These updates make it easier to see important mount information at a glance, while more clearly presenting the talent tree.

Finally, we’re giving you a first look at a new crafting system coming next week. This upcoming system is designed to streamline crafting and offer more flexibility, and we’re excited to share more details soon.

• Fixed an issue where Custom Game Settings could not be Opened in Dedicated Servers Lobbies when creating a prospect - they now can be
  
• Saddle tooltips now show what creatures they can be equipped to, these are represented by icons of the creatures
  
• Mount Health Bar and Player Health Bars now have a size limit and will not extend endlessly across the screen
  

[hr][/hr]

This update introduces woolly mammoths as a new tameable and rideable creature. After locating a juvenile mammoth and dealing with its parent, you can tame it, craft a unique mammoth saddle at the Tier 2 Animal Bench, and equip it to travel across the map atop this massive beast.



Mammoths feature their own dedicated talent tree, with more exciting talents planned for future updates. Their high carrying capacity makes them ideal for transporting large quantities of materials, while their steady movement allows them to navigate rough or uneven terrain with ease.



You’ll find mammoths roaming colder regions, and they follow the same taming and care systems as existing creatures, making them easy to integrate into your current playstyle.


[hr][/hr]

We’ve spent time refining the mount UI, as it previously didn’t present one of the most important features clearly - the talent tree. The updated layout brings this system into focus, making it easier to understand and interact with your mount’s progression.

While there are more improvements planned for the future, this update represents a strong first step toward a clearer and more intuitive mount experience.


[hr][/hr]

Originally developed for Dangerous Horizons, we’ve implemented a new system that allows items to be grouped using tags and used as crafting inputs, rather than requiring a specific item.

We’ve decided to release this system early, as it works particularly well with fish - of which there are now over 60 varieties. Next week, we’ll be rolling it out alongside new fish recipes, making crafting more flexible and significantly easier to manage.

Check back next week to see this new system in action.


[hr][/hr][h2]Your support makes these updates possible.[/h2]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3315290/Icarus_Great_Hunts_Campaigns/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/35727/Icarus_Complete_the_Set/
[hr][/hr]

[h3]New Content[/h3]
[expand]
- Unlocked Rideable Mammoth Mount, Spawning and Talent Tree
[/expand]

• Arachnophobia can now be toggled on and off correctly on dedicated servers
  
• Fixed issue where custom world settings where not saving to the prospect file immediately - this have now been corrected with a force save when these settings are updated
  
• Fixed issue where clients would not see the current custom server settings in the escape menu after logging in as an admin on dedicated servers - this has now been corrected and the server settings are set to the correct state when opening
  
• Fixed issue where players who log in as admins in the dedicated server lobby or auto-login due to being part of an admin whitelist where not registered as logged in when transitioning to prospects - this has been corrected and an auto login and sync will occur so while on prospect elevated custom settings can be adjusted as intended, this is partially working and will be improved
  

• When creating a new prospect from a dedicated server lobby the 'Custom World Settings' button may not work. The current work around is to change the setting as an admin while in game using the button in the escape menu. This will be fixed in coming patches.