Necesse News

To get this update, you have to opt in inside your library:
Necesse -> Properties -> Betas -> Select 0.20.x in dropdown.
It's recommended to back up your saves when playing on the experimental version. Especially when loading a save using a newer version. You can do so in-game on the load menu.

A quick reminder that there's an official Discord server, where you can post suggestions, bugs, or just talk with other players and the developer. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/FAFgrKD


Even though performance isn't the biggest issue in Necesse, I spent some time this week working on it. It resulted in some major improvements to some specific areas of the rendering engine, which is used throughout the entire game. The improvements will mostly be noticed on mid and high-end computers, where I saw an increase of 50% to 200% in FPS (or even higher) on the systems I tested.

This update also includes another big quality of life feature: auto open/close doors. It works by simply trying to walk through a door, and if you have it enabled you will open and close it automatically when you're through. This new system also replaces existing door openers, like settlers and pirates.

Lastly, there are a bunch of balance changes and polish as usual.

See a full changelog below.



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]
Added door auto open/close. Can be toggled in quickbar.
Added don't show again checkbox to EA notice.
Added animations for holding iron and gold lamps.

[h3]Changes/misc:[/h3]
Major performance improvements to tile and terrain rendering.
Major performance improvements to weather rendering.
Improvements to a bunch of other rendering like cave rocks, walls, wires.
Improved level loading of entities etc.
Updated Ostrich mob texture slightly.
Reduced greater health potion to heal 75 instead.
It's now no longer possible to "attack" with banners.
Active buffs are now sorted instead of showing in random order.
Reworked Force of Wind to be more consistent between when moving and standing still.
Changed zoom level setting to be a slider.
Updated Lightning Hammer texture.
Updated Farming Scythe texture.
Increased size of Wood and Void Boomerang.
Changed settings back button to cancel to make it more obvious you're discarding changes.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
Fixed issue with FPS counter when running above 1000 FPS.
Fixed backed up worlds not changing their identifier, which is used in client caches and a few other places.
Fixed smart mining setting sometimes not saving properly.

And a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes.
You might have to restart Steam to get the update.

To get this update, you have to opt in inside your library:
Necesse -> Properties -> Betas -> Select 0.20.x in dropdown.
It's recommended to back up your saves when playing on the experimental version. Especially when loading a save using a newer version. You can do so in-game on the load menu.

A quick reminder that there's an official Discord server, where you can post suggestions, bugs, or just talk with other players and the developer. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/FAFgrKD


This weeks update includes a few new items and animations, a lot of updated AI and some improvements and polish to the progression.

Banners are a new type of item that gives buffs to you and teammates around you when you hold them in your hand. They use a new mechanic added to the game where your character looks like you're holding an item. There's currently only one and I'm still figuring out the balance of them, but I think they'll create some interesting gameplay, whether you use them to support your teammates or run around while your summons attacks.

Other than that there are a bunch of fixes and improvements especially to the AI. Since I've started to use the new behaviour tree system, the AI is smoother and reacts quicker.

See a full changelog below.





[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]
Added ability for items to show when players are holding them.
Added animation for holding a torch in hand.
Added rain sound effect.
Added weather volume setting. By default, it's very faint.
Added Banner Of Speed item, using new hold item mechanic. Crafted at Demonic Workstation or better.

[h3]Changes/misc:[/h3]
Cursor size is now dynamic and can be bigger than the default size.
Reduced spawns of giant cave spiders and cave moles slightly.
Cave moles now have a light spawn threshold on par with other cave mobs.
Zombie archers will now drop a small number of arrows.
Cave Zombies and Goblins now have a small chance to drop a Mysterious Portal if you haven't killed Evils Protector yet.
Reworked pathfinding, increasing performance, especially when moving long distances.
Settlers/human mobs now use the new AI system, making them much more consistent.
Settlers/human mobs will now always attack hostile mobs unless they're staying inside at night (guards excluded).
Pirate Captain now drops the deep ladder instead of spawning it.
Reworked and optimized entity/mob rendering slightly.
Improved AI movement, making it less likely to get stuck.
Summons/pets/mounts now use the new AI system, making them much smoother and more responsive.
Crops will now weave when they get hit.
You will no longer drop your dragging item when trying to interact with something.
Increased damage by many early mobs slightly.
Updated a few items broker values that were out of proportion.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
Fixed tutorial text not showing log item icon.
Fixed crafting station setting getting reset seemingly at random.
Fixed issue with Vampires and Cave Moles kept moving around when they shouldn't.
Fixed errors when using rope on animals.
Fixed issue when crafting where it prioritises the wrong inventories first (like nearby inventory crafting).
Fixed issue when trying to set desired settler, but the room is not being updated.
Fixed dragging item not being rendered when inventory is not visible.

And a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes.
You might have to restart Steam to get the update.

To get this update, you have to opt in inside your library:
Necesse -> Properties -> Betas -> Select 0.20.x in dropdown.
It's recommended to back up your saves when playing on experimental version. Especially when loading a save using a newer version. You can do so in game on the load menu.

A quick reminder that there's an official Discord server, where you can post suggestions, bugs, or just talk with other players and the developer. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/FAFgrKD


This update adds some more content to the swamp biome in a couple of items and some more cosmetics.

Previously the AI was almost completely hard-coded, and it has started to become a big pain to expand on it and make more complex.
So I decided to take the time to implement an event-driven behaviour tree AI system. It's a very popular system used by many games since it allows expansion of AI easily. Some things it can be used for in Necesse includes more complex settlers that walk around and do jobs, control cinematics, animations etc. It's already in use in some of the more basic AI like critters, basic melee and ranged chasers.

I'm also still working on the list of things to do for 0.20 release.

See a full changelog below.



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]
Added Stink Flask item, found in swamp cave chests.
Added Overgrown Fishing Rod, found in swamp cave chests.
Added swamp cave explorer expedition.
Added a bunch extra items to expeditions loot table, like the biome mob drops etc.
Added wild cattails, appears in the swamp and are only cosmetic at the moment.

[h3]Changes/misc:[/h3]
Swamp caves will now also spawn frog critters.
Increased Depths Catcher fishing power.
Camera will now reach the edge of the map (before it stopped 1 tile out).
Reworked a bunch of AI with a new behaviour tree system.
Changed the map colors of swamp rocks and grass to make caves walls and floors more intuitive.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
Fixed mobs being able to spawn inside the starter house.
Fixed rotation point of some particles.
Fixed some fishing rod animations not aligned properly.
Fixed pirate chests spawning too many lifeline trinkets.
Fixed height manager not setting correct height for map edges.
Fixed summoned mobs projectiles able to hit owner when not on a team.
Fixed some follower mobs invading on personal space too much.

And a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes.
You might have to restart Steam to get the update.

To get this update, you have to opt in inside your library:
Necesse -> Properties -> Betas -> Select 0.20.x in dropdown.
It's recommended to back up your saves when playing on experimental version. Especially when loading a save using a newer version. You can do so in game on the load menu.

A quick reminder that there's an official Discord server, where you can post suggestions, bugs, or just talk with other players and the developer. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/FAFgrKD


Back from summer break, this weeks update is mostly focused on improvements and fixes. That being said it has also got some new features. Mainly the ability to zoom in and out. This feature took quite a bit of time since it required a lot of underlying (and much needed) changes.

The new explorer settler is now also able to go on expeditions. These are a way to pay to get some biome/area specific items instead of going to look for them yourself. It takes "kind of" a long time at the moment (5-10 minutes) and the balance is still being worked on. Later on, this can also be used to get some unique items only obtainable through the explorer.

Since being back from break, I'll start to put a lot of focus on the release of v0.20. This means there will be a bunch of work that won't show on these changelogs. Some of that includes new music, trailer, achievements, expanded platform support and the like that will likely be in the release of 0.20.

See a full changelog below.



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]
Added zoom levels. Can be changed using new zoom controls or in general settings.
Added Explorer expeditions.

[h3]Changes/misc:[/h3]
Click and drag to select text is now much better when the mouse is outside the text area.
Reduced spawn odds of cave moles.
Achievements unlock time is now much more stable and will be loaded from Steam.
Changed how pathfinding checks collisions, making enemies not try to walk where they can't as much.
Reworked top left forms, fixing issues like scroll bar appearing on bigger interface sizes.
Updated and expanded a bunch of debugging tools.
Texture loading should now be faster, especially on lower end systems.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
Fixed a bunch of issues and inconsistencies with collision detection.
Fixed frame buffer error being logged when minimizing the game.
Fixed possible issue with projectiles getting stuck on server or client.
Fixed server list names not being saved safely.
Fixed settler mobs sometimes not moving when they have too long paths.
Fixed being able to interact with mobs that's not visible.
Fixed a bunch of issues related to running the 32 bit version.

And a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes.
You might have to restart Steam to get the update.

To get this update, you have to opt in inside your library:
Necesse -> Properties -> Betas -> Select 0.20.x in dropdown.
It's recommended to back up your saves when playing on experimental version. Especially when loading a save using a newer version. You can do so in game on the load menu.

A quick reminder that there's an official Discord server, where you can post suggestions, bugs, or just talk with other players and the developer. Here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/FAFgrKD


This week I've been experimenting with new enemy types using some of the new systems that were implemented in previous updates. I'm not too sure about the balance of these yet and they will probably be tweaked later.

There's also a completely new settler with a new unique function. This settler is not fully complete yet, but the goal is to provide ways to reduce the exploring grind, especially when some rarer islands are added.

A few other changes like larger travel island grid size, sound falloff/attenuation, difficulty tweaks, item textures and more.
I'm still also in the process of polishing. Much of it is minor changes and won't have a big effect on itself, but together it makes a difference.

I've also started on expanding the usage of the existing "chunk" system in the game. The plan is to make almost all aspects of the game use this since it will allow me to create levels that are much bigger and even create a completely seamless world. At the moment the level size very limited because projectiles used to for example check collision on every mob on the level.

Starting today I will be taking a one week summer break. This means there won't be an update next week, and I will be back working the week after. I'll still be available most of the time with problems in Discord and here on Steam.

See a full changelog below.



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Additions:[/h3]
Added Swamp Shooter mob, found in swamp caves.
Added Cave Moles. A relatively rare mob found in caves.
Added new Explorer settler, a new unique settler.
Added some more ghost death sounds to make different ghost deaths more distinct.
Added activate sounds for Void Wizard.

[h3]Changes/misc:[/h3]
Made Swamp Slime much faster and have longer search distance in caves.
Changed default show damage over time text to on.
Made disable mob spawns world setting considered a cheat. Can now only be changed using /settings server command.
Removed settlement quests new feature notice.
Renamed Pirate Island to Pirate Village and Dungeon Island to Dungeon Entrance.
World and travel map grid will now be bigger at larger screen sizes.
Levels with a settlement flag will now stay loaded. This can be changed with /settings command on a per world basis.
Changed sound falloff, making it much more natural.
Changed dresser inventory to store only armor sets.
Slightly increased the difficulty damage modifiers.
Removed item stand object, will be replaced with spruce display stand.
Updated book item texture.
Updated bullet item textures.

[h3]Fixes:[/h3]
Fixed villager settler map icon and flag looking up.
Fixed issues with server world settings not sending correctly.
Fixed minimap edge texture stretching on smaller levels (like the dungeon).

And a bunch of other smaller changes and fixes.
You might have to restart Steam to get the update.