Against the Storm News

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
The dust has barely settled after Foxes joined the game, but we're already back with the new content update in which we're introducing:

• New glade event: Merchant Shipwreck
  
• 8 new Deeds
  
• 6 new Ghost encounters
  
• 7 new Orders
  
• New language: Thai
  
• and more!

Continue reading for our design notes and the full changelog.
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[h2]RECENT CRASHING PROBLEMS[/h2]
With the Sentinels of the Forest release, we decided to update our (rapidly aging) Unity engine version. Despite picking the most stable version available (polished by the creators for over a year), the number of crashes in Against the Storm sadly increased. While a large part of the reported issues was solved by updating hardware drivers, we are aware that for some of you the problems still persist. Unfortunately, the source of these crashes is far beyond our reach, and we have a very limited set of tools we can use to fix them.

That being said, the Merchant Shipwreck Update contains a few under-the-hood changes that, while slightly degrading the game's overall performance, will prevent the Unity engine from deadlocking itself. In case that won’t be enough, we will continue looking for a solution with more frequent builds on the Experimental Branch.
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[h2]DEVELOPER NOTES[/h2]
The last fourteen days were pretty intense - the reception of the new playable species was very positive, and we’ve received a lot of cool feedback and suggestions. Our community has also grown immensely after the game was recently featured on the front page of Steam. Thank you all for your invaluable support, and please give a warm welcome to all the new Against the Storm players!

With Sentinels of the Forest Update, we finalized the majority of the Early Access goals that we set on the roadmap. So, what else is there in the pipeline for Against the Storm? Worry not, we still have a lot to add to the game, and our usual bi-weekly updates won’t stop anytime soon! We will share a new roadmap in the coming days, so stay tuned!

A quick side note while we’re on the topic of the Foxes update - some of you really liked the new Fox portrait. You can download it from our press kit and check the behind-the-scenes process on ArtStation.

Let’s now jump right into this newest update. This time, we bring you a variety of new content - a new glade event, new orders, new ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands, new deeds, decisions for some previously overlooked events, multiple balance changes, numerous UI improvements, two new music tracks, and official support for the Thai language.

Merchant Shipwreck

Ghost of a Lizard Elder and Ghost of a Fox Scout

First off, let’s talk about events. The most exciting thing is of course the new addition - the Merchant Shipwreck. It’s a destroyed ship found in the middle of the forest. It has two decisions, a working effect tied to trading, and a nasty consequence if it’s not solved (I’ll let you discover that for yourself). We also looked at some older events and added new decisions where there was just one option (like in the Noxious Machinery or Corrupted Caravan). This way the only events left without multiple decisions are the smallest ones, like the Fishmen Totem or Living Matter.

Speaking of Living Matter - it’s no longer called that, as it’s now named “Blood Flower”. We decided to completely change this event’s flavor, description, and model because for a long time now it was causing some problems. Its visuals were simply a particle effect, and due to this, we needed to use an uglier fallback asset for older hardware that couldn’t compile complex shaders/FXs. Plus, quite honestly, the original Living Matter visual representation wasn’t too appealing in the first place. The new Blood Flower on the other hand is prettier, easier to maintain, more unique, and doesn’t require any special treatment for low-end machines.

Blood Flower

This update also fills a few gaps in terms of content. We added 8 new deeds, all tied to the new modifiers introduced a few versions earlier, and we added new ghost encounters to the Cursed Royal Woodlands (you can now find a few Fox ghosts). There are also 7 new orders with new objective types (completing high-value trade routes and discovering glades in quick succession).

We also took some time to improve the game’s balance in a few places. This time it wasn’t just numerical changes though, but rather mechanical adjustments to some smaller systems. Most notably, we changed how Standing is gained in trade routes (it now progresses based on Amber traded, not the number of transactions), and how Cysts are spawned during the Storm (previously, they would always appear opened. Now, if they spawn after the last open cyst was destroyed, they will appear closed). We also adjusted the spawn rates of ghosts in the Cursed Royal Woodlands to minimize the chances of having two or more of the same ghost on one map.

Last, but certainly not least - UX, UI, technical stuff, and other additions. We added the “move” button to the Trading Post, added the option to increase production limits by 5 or 10 (using Shift/Ctrl), and introduced a color-coding system to tooltips (owned blueprints are now highlighted in resource tooltips). We also fixed a ton of bugs, improved the overall stability and performance of the game, and introduced yet another language - Thai!

Trading Post

As always - thank you all for providing feedback and suggestions for the new update. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:

• Steam Discussions, Discord, Reddit - discuss the game with the community and share your impressions
  
• Feature Request Tool - suggest specific new features

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

P.S. If you've picked up Against the Storm and have been playing it, make sure to leave a Steam review! They help a lot!
[hr][/hr]
[h2]CHANGELOG[/h2]
Number of changes: 85
Inspired by community: 72%

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.

[h3]New content and features[/h3]

• ⚡ Added a new dangerous glade event.
  • Merchant Shipwreck - How powerful must the storm surge have been to carry this shattered wreck all the way here? Perhaps in the distant past, there was a sea in this place? It looks as if it had been lying here for centuries. Strange voices can be heard from below the deck...
• ⚡ Added 8 new deeds. All of them are tied to the new modifiers that were introduced into the game a few updates ago.
  • Frosts - Win a game near the Frosts modifier.
    
  • Abandoned Settlement - Win a game near the Abandoned Settlement modifier.
    
  • Untamed Wilds - Win a game near the Untamed Wilds modifier.
    
  • Land of Greed - Win a game near the Land of Greed modifier.
    
  • Petrified Necropolis - Win a game near the Petrified Necropolis modifier.
    
  • Gathering Storm - Win a game near the Gathering Storm modifier.
    
  • Overgrown Library - Win a game near the Overgrown Library modifier.
    
  • Ominous Presence - Win a game near the Ominous Presence modifier.
• Added 6 new ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands.
  • Ghost of a Lizard Elder
    
  • Ghost of a Lost Scout
    
  • Ghost of an Old Merchant
    
  • Ghost of a Murdered Trader
    
  • Ghost of a Fox Elder
    
  • Ghost of a Teadoctor
• Added 7 new Orders. All of them make use of new objective types introduced into the game - completing trade routes with a given minimum value, and discovering glades in a short time span.
  • Profit Margin
    
  • Profitable Trade
    
  • Fair Exchange
    
  • Export Hub
    
  • Into the Unknown
    
  • Hasty Explorer
    
  • All at Once

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• ⚡ Rebalanced the spawn rates of ghost encounters in the Cursed Royal Woodlands. The chances of coming across two identical ghosts on the same map should now be minimal.
  
• ⚡ Changed how cyst spawning during the Storm works. Previously, every Cyst that spawned during the Storm was immediately open. Now, after the last open Cyst was burned, subsequent cysts will appear closed.
  • This means that if you are in the middle of burning Cysts during the Storm, and a new one appears, it will be open. But if you burn all Cysts, and a new one appears only after the last one has been destroyed, it will lay dormant until the next Storm (or until awakened by an event, like the Infected Mole).
• ⚡ Changed the Land of Greed modifier effect. It no longer removes event rewards.
  • Land of Greed - The strange totem causes you to only focus on your wealth... And the Crown is worried. Impatience grows 50% quicker, but every ongoing trade route reduces Impatience generation speed by 20%.
• ⚡ Added new decisions to 5 already existing glade events.
  • Corrupted Caravan - with the option to either cleanse it or send contaminated goods to the Citadel (tagged as corruption).
    
  • Fuming Machinery - with the option to either tear it down or fix it (and be rewarded with a decoration with a special effect).
    
  • Withered Tree - with the option to either cleanse it or cut it down.
    
  • Petrified Tree - with the option to either cut it down or heal it (tagged as empathy).
    
  • Noxious Machinery - with the option to either cleanse it or tear it down.
• ⚡ If a player isn’t level 2 after the second tutorial map (because they skipped the tutorial, lost a game, or an update reset their settlement), they will be automatically promoted to level 2 after entering the World Map for the first time.
  
• The size of the Newcomers caravan now scales with in-game years instead of scaling with the number of villagers in the settlement.
  
• Changed the reward for the “fix” option in the Leaking Cauldron glade event. Instead of giving Reputation, it spawns fertile soil around.
  
• Changed the way newcomer scaling works. Previously, the number of new villagers was based on the population of a settlement. Now the numbers are based statically on the number of years past. This change was introduced to allow players to recover more quickly after a negative chain of events wipes out a significant portion of their villagers.
  
• Changed the way Standing levels progress when using Trade Routes. Previously, neighboring towns would level up after a fixed number of routes were completed. Now it’s the value of your transactions that counts. This change should introduce more variance into the system, and make it possible to gain Standing more reliably (with big transactions).
  
• Increased the Complex Food requirement in the Vitality effect. It now requires 200 units (instead of 150) of complex food consumed to add the Resolve bonus.

[h3]UX/UI improvements[/h3]

• ⚡ The Trading Post is now movable. The “move” button can be found in the Trading Panel after selecting the building (you can also move the Trading Post by hovering your cursor over it and pressing M on your keyboard).
  
• ⚡ Added an option to rebind the “copy building” function in the Options menu.
  
• ⚡ Resource tooltips now show which buildings a player owns (they are highlighted in the list of all buildings that can produce said resource).
  
• ⚡ Tooltips for goods are now formatted differently. They display building names in a list and show the star rating of a recipe next to the building name.
  
• ⚡ Need tooltips now show which service buildings a player owns (they are highlighted in the list of all buildings that can fulfill said need).
  
• ⚡ Holding Shift when changing production limits will now change the number by 10. Holding Ctrl will change the number by 5.
  
• ⚡ The clickable area for Woodcutters’ Camp settings has been enlarged.
  
• ⚡ Resources in the “related goods” section of the Recipe Popup are now separated based on which slot they are assigned to in the original recipe.
  
• ⚡ Clicking on a need icon in a service building will now open the Recipe Panel and automatically search for the good required to satisfy the said need.
  
• ⚡ Changed the name and icon of the Obsidian Shovels perk to avoid confusion.
  
• Improved scaling for almost all tooltips in the game. Tooltips should now be able to resize more easily in all directions.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the unique effect of the Converted Harmony Altar not taking the Teadoctor into account.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Automaton worker slot still showing the old icon instead of the new one.
  
• ⚡ Fixed some overlapping text in Resolve effect tooltips.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with ghosts requiring the burning or spawning of cysts appearing for players without Rainpunk unlocked in the Citadel.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused Fox and Lizard icons to not be clickable in the Training Expedition panel.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a few outdated pieces of ghost dialogue (they were referencing requests that were no longer present in the game).
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with a handful of orders appearing in maps where they can’t be completed (like an objective to build farm fields in a map without fertile soil).
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with scouts not playing any animation when solving the Destroyed Rainpunk Foundry glade event.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with scouts not playing any animation when solving the Altar of Decay glade event.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Sealed Vault glade event having an incorrect working effect on higher difficulty levels.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with two-line order objectives sometimes cutting into other text on the HUD.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Blight Swarm Prestige modifier not being available in Training Expeditions.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with recipes in the mine displaying a one-star efficiency. They are now correctly assigned a two-star tier.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed Cornerstones like Firelink Ritual to appear in a game without any species with the need for Religion. From now on, if a need is not represented in a settlement, Cornerstones tied to it will not appear.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the ESC key to sometimes not work correctly when trying to exit the Embark View.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect objective text displayed on the HUD for Orders based on delivering goods.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the visual FX of a completed Order to be displayed above other UI elements.
  
• ⚡ Removed an unnecessary dot in the tooltip header of Order objectives based on delivering goods.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that allowed the Destroyed Rainpunk Foundry to be deleted with the destruction tool.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Herb recipe in the Greenhouse to be affected by the Leaking Cauldron working effect.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Mine missing the worker count in the Encyclopedia.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Citadel Resource icons being inconsistently ordered below upgrades in the upgrade tree.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Twitch Chat Polls sometimes breaking after caravan voting.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Twitch Chat Polls breaking after two votes were started at the same time.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Consumption Control panel having a brighter background than other full screen popups.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with ore not reappearing while moving a building placed on top of it.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Human Starting Ability showing the fertile soil marker on the edge of the map in games without any fertile soil.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a wrong translation in the Korean version of the Voice of the Forest effect.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused some numbers to be obstructed and unreadable in the Japanese version of the game (like for example in the Protected Trade Cornerstone).
  
• ⚡ Fixed a typo in house descriptions in the Spanish version of the game.
  
• ⚡ Implemented multiple fixes to the Simplified Chinese version of the game (biome descriptions, some effect descriptions, order objectives, etc.).
  
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect translation of the Fungal Guide perk in the Ukrainian version of the game.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with two buildings having the same name in the German version of the game (Distillery and Tinctury). Additionally, improved translations in the Embark View and the Carved in Stone perk description.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an incorrect translation of the Procrastination effect in the Russian version of the Game. Additionally, we implemented multiple miscellaneous fixes and improvements to the localization (deeds, descriptions, perks).
  
• Fixed a few incorrect profession names assigned to new buildings (Distillery, Beanery, Tea House).
  
• Fixed an issue with female Fox villagers carrying incorrectly rotated objects.

[h3]Other[/h3]

• ⚡ Added 2 new music tracks to the Cursed Royal Woodlands (during Storm).
  
• Added a new officially supported language - Thai.
  
• Changed the visual representation, name, and description of the Living Matter. The event (and its clone) is now called Blood Flower. This change was introduced mainly to get rid of the old Living Matter model (which was simply a particle effect) and to ground it a bit more in the game’s lore.
  
• Improved overall stability and fixed a few instances of CPU crashes that occurred after the last engine update.

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[h2]COMMUNITY CORNER[/h2]
Click to unfold:
[expand]
There are two types of Against the Storm players:

• Those who love TonyShape’s comics,
  
• And those who haven’t discovered them yet.

Here are the two new ones, dedicated to Foxes and they deserve all our Steam Points:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962734405
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962734405
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965761229
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965761229

We’re also excited to see Fox buildings embellish your settlements:

First Attempt at Fox Town by u/JammyOriginal4 (Source: Reddit)

Second attempt at Foxton by u/JammyOriginal4 (Source: Reddit)

The tea doctor is all-powerful by u/chzrm3 (Source: Reddit)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964261983
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2964261983
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962917525
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962917525
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962686254
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962686254
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962363074
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2962363074
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967444670
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967444670

Lastly, here’s a captivating short story that depicts the exciting yet daunting events of embarkation:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965902737

For more screenshots, check out the Screenshots tab in Steam Community (and award the ones you like!).
[/expand]
That’s all folks! We wish you an awesome weekend and a great time with the new update.
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[h2]PREVIOUS UPDATES[/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/5598579119733976813
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/6659175566886354000
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/5309220323997279603
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3667656258520766684

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
We invite you to join us later today at 3:00 pm UTC on our Twitch channel for a developer livestream during which we’ll shed more light on this week’s Merchant Shipwreck Update and talk with Mikołaj - the game’s sound producer - about the sounds and music of Against the Storm:

FOLLOW US ON TWITCH

Please make sure you’re ready for the new update and finish your current settlement before the Update goes live on Thursday (April 27 sometime between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm UTC).

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h2]HOW TO PREPARE[/h2]
We release new content Updates every two weeks on Thursdays around 1 pm – 3 pm UTC. As we make multiple changes to the game’s systems, balance, and content, the game needs to force-finish any settlements that are in progress when you download the update. This aims to prevent various game-breaking bugs that could occur otherwise.

IMPORTANT: If you have a settlement in progress, it will have to be force-finished when you download the Update. You will be reimbursed with Citadel Resources but you will have to start a new settlement. Your meta progress (that is: Experience, Level, completed Deeds, unlocked Upgrades, Citadel Resources, etc.) will remain intact.

In the main menu, under the “Play” button, there’s a countdown to upcoming Updates. Please finish your current settlement before the update day if you don’t want it to be completed automatically.

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
We just released a small hotfix that deals with very specific instances of CPU crashing that started to occur after last week's Sentinels of the Forest Update.

We apologize to everyone affected by the issue and we are extremely grateful for your patience and willingness to help us test the fix on the Experimental Branch. Thank you so so much for your support!

What happened is that when we updated the Unity Engine to a newer version (as part of our continuous work on optimization), we inherited two issues. One related to the input system and one to the compiler that optimizes the game for different CPU architectures. We patched the input system bug and we partially withdrew from the CPU optimization. You shouldn't really be able to tell the difference in performance, but this will help with the crashing problem for players using specific CPUs.

For other players experiencing crashes, you may need to update the GPU drivers (as a result of the game moving to a new version of the Unity Engine). We've seen many such cases successfully resolved by performing a clean installation of drivers downloaded directly from the manufacturer's site instead of using the express auto-update option. You can download the drivers here:

• NVIDIA GeForce: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/
• AMD: https://www.amd.com/en/support
• Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download-center/home

We hope this helps and we wish everyone a great weekend!

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
In today's hotfix, we're fixing some of the issues that occured after the Sentinels of the Forest Update. Thank you for your swift and detailed reports!

• Fixed a bug that caused some saves to become corrupted if the Apothecary building was present in the settlement.
  
• Fixed a bug with the "deliver X resource" order tooltip showing an incorrect description.
  
• Fixed a bug with two Orders having the same rewards (Firestarter and Ancient Artifacts).
  
• Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Tea House being called "Apothecary" in the UI.
  
• Fixed a bug with the Improvised Tools Cornerstone tooltip showing an incorrect description.
  
• Fixed an issue with the new Puffed Grain perk not being sold by traders.
  
• Fixed an incorrect Russian translation of the Bread Peels Cornerstone.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the new decorations (Overgrown Fence and Overgrown Fence Corner) to be displayed in the Encyclopedia even without unlocking them.
  
• Fixed an issue with species entries in the Encyclopedia being incorrectly ordered.
  
• Fixed an issue with the German Fox description in the Encyclopedia being partially cut off by UI elements.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused scouts to not play any animation when working on Archaeological Discovery events.

We also received a few crash reports. In yesterday's update, we moved to a newer version of the Unity Engine. While it improves the game's performance in general, it may cause singular issues. Therefore, if you experience crashes, we strongly recommend trying all the solutions listed in our trobuelshooting article: https://eremitegames.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/80000781533


From our experience, they tend to help in the majority of cases. We recommend starting by updating your drivers (here's a handy guide from PC Gamer: https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-update-drivers/).

We wish you lots of fun with the new update and a great weekend!

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Ahoj, Viceroys![/h3]
Against the Storm grows with the biggest content update ever.

Sentinels of the Forest Update introduces:

• New playable species: Foxes
  
• 5 new buildings: Fox House, Tea Doctor, Tea House, Distillery, and Beanery
  
• Starting Abilities (unique for every species)
  
• 11 new orders
  
• 3 new perks
  
• 7 new Citadel Upgrades
  
• Increased level cap: 18
  
• New food: Porridge
  
• 2 new Deeds
  
• 2 new decorations
  
• New glade event
  
• New attribute: Hunger Tolerance
  
• 5 new languages: Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Turkish, and Ukrainian
  
• And more!

Check out the new trailer:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
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[h2]ALL-TIME HIGH DISCOUNT AND UPCOMING PRICE INCREASE[/h2]
We are thrilled to announce that Against the Storm will be featured on the Steam homepage for a Weekend Sale discount starting today, where you’ll be able to pick up the game for 25% off. If you (or your friends) have been on the fence about jumping into Against the Storm, now’s a great time to check it out!

In addition to being the best discount on the game to date, this will also be the last chance to get Against the Storm at the current price. We mentioned in the Early Access notes that the price would likely increase, and with this new species update, we feel enough content has been added for this. In two weeks we will raise the price -- for USD, the price will increase from $19.99 to $29.99, while other currencies will have similar proportional increases. This will be the ONLY time we raise the price of Against the Storm, and the price will remain at that level for the future v1.0 release and after.

But before we do that, we wanted to give everyone advance notice and a good discounted opportunity to buy the game at the lowest price. So if you'd like to get the game, please do so before April 27th, and we'll look forward to having you as part of the player community!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1336490/Against_the_Storm/
[hr][/hr]
[h2]DEVELOPER NOTES[/h2]
Viceroys, rejoice! Foxes have finally entered the game in the biggest update in the history of Against the Storm. And they didn’t arrive empty-handed, because this release also adds a lot of new content - buildings, orders, perks, decorations, deeds, upgrades, new mechanics, new languages, new music track, UI improvements, and much, much more. So without further ado, let's jump right into it.

First off, let’s talk about the new species - the mysterious and majestic Foxes. Back in January, we hosted a community vote, and you helped us decide which new species would end up in the game. Since then, we’ve been working hard on adding them to the game in parallel with delivering regular, bi-weekly updates. And today, Foxes are finally here!





Foxes are one of the more unique species in the world of Against the Storm. They are deeply tied to the forest and have evolved to live in symbiosis with the Blight. One of their most unique traits is their complete resistance to Hostility (they don’t get any Resolve penalty for it). They are skilled scouts (they are faster at solving glade events), and they enjoy working with rainwater (they get a Resolve bonus when working in buildings using it as an ingredient). Unfortunately, due to their relation with the Blight, they need constant Treatment (a new need in place of Cleanliness). Their other needs are: Any Housing, Fox Housing, Porridge (a new food type added with this update), Skewers, Pickled Goods, Brawling, and Luxury. Additionally, Fox firekeepers have the ability to lower the Hostility gained from every discovered glade.

When designing Foxes, our goal was to fill a few balance niches (like the two service needs that were only tied to one species up to this point) and introduce more variation in gameplay. That’s why we gave them a unique attribute (Hostility resistance) and tied them to glade events (via their specialization). We also wanted to round out the metal branch a bit more by requiring metal for Fox Houses and the production of Tea (a new good used to fulfill the need for Treatment). With that change, and numerous previous improvements to the metal branch (mine upgrades, tool rebalance, event revamp, pipes, etc.), we feel that this part of the game should now fall into a nice spot. Although there were numerous cool ideas for a complete metal revamp floating around in the community, we wanted to take a more evolutionary approach with this feature (rather than a revolutionary one).





Another big change coming with this update is the Hunger Tolerance system. Reading the previous paragraph, one might think that Foxes are straight up better than any other species - and to an extent, that would be true. But we also introduce a new global attribute for every species - Hunger Tolerance, which simply put, is the maximum number of hunger stacks a species can take before dying. Until now, hunger was stacking indefinitely, constantly increasing a Resolve penalty. From now on, in addition to the Resolve penalty, villagers will only be able to tank a certain number of stacks before dying (the values are as follows: Foxes 3, Harpies 4, Humans & Beavers 6, Lizards 12). That, combined with the reliance on metal for housing and Tea, as well as a low Base Resolve value, should make Foxes a bit less powerful and in line with other species.

This update also brings with it a brand new mechanic tied to species in the form of Starting Abilities. Each species now has a unique skill that is triggered once they join a given run for the first time - either at the beginning of the game (for species coming with the initial caravan) or when the first member of a new species joins the town. For example, Humans will reveal one patch of fertile soil on the map, while Foxes will show you the location of the nearest rainwater geyser. Starting Abilities are unlocked by buying upgrades in the Citadel.

Human and Fox starting abilities



With the addition of Foxes, there are also numerous areas where new content was added to support the new species. There are 5 new buildings (Fox House, Tea Doctor, Tea House, Distillery, Beanery), a new food item (Porridge, made from rainwater and simple food), 11 new Orders, 3 new perks, one new glade event, 2 new Deeds, 2 new decorations, and 7 new Citadel Upgrades. We also tweaked a lot of existing content to take Foxes into account and seamlessly incorporate them into the game. All the nitty-gritty details are described in the changelog below.





Lastly, this update brings with it a lot of smaller changes as well. We added support for 5 new languages to the game (Italian, Czech, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Turkish), introduced a new music track to the Coral Forest (Drizzle season), and replaced 41 old icons with new custom assets (a few resources, order objectives, biome effects, and needs). We also (as always) fixed a lot of bugs, and tried to improve the game’s performance and stability.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the Early Access roadmap and see what’s left. Over the past 5 months, we’ve been gradually adding new content, revamping old systems, and polishing the game in general. During that time, some items on the roadmap were pretty easy to mark as done after one or two updates (like Twitch Integration, the new species, the Blightrot revamp, or the Scarlet Orchard’s unique mechanic), whereas others were more complicated to check off, as they could theoretically go on indefinitely (like new perks, new orders, new decorations). But there comes a time when we need to look back at the sum of all the small steps taken (like all the individual small perk batches added in the last 12 updates) and decide to mark their respective roadmap items as delivered. And with this update, we feel that most of the ongoing content expansion topics (buildings, perks, orders, etc.) are done.

Early Access Roadmap (updated April 2023)

One of the more elusive ongoing items on the roadmap you are probably all wondering about is the metal branch evolution - and why it’s now marked as completed. This was never really intended to be a big revamp or a brand-new system, but rather a gradual evolution. While we never really named any update after it, we introduced small changes here and there (mine upgrades, pipes, needs based on metal, fox housing, event revamps, biome balancing) that slowly nudged the metal branch into a new direction. After the introduction of Foxes, that long marathon is at its end.

But don’t worry, the completion of the roadmap doesn’t mean we will stop adding new content to the game! When we first put together the roadmap, it was only meant to outline the first 6 months of Early Access. We wanted to be extra careful and not overpromise on anything, only adding to it once it was completed. And now, after half a year of suspiciously smooth development, it’s almost done, and we are looking at our backlog of ideas once again! We decided to continue the Early Access program for a couple more months and add more content that we feel would benefit the game greatly. We will share an updated roadmap in the near future.

Phew, that was a long dev note… and it probably didn’t even cover everything, because there is just soo much new stuff (but fortunately the changelog has everything listed). We hope you enjoy this massive new update, and thank you for all the feedback and suggestions you provided. If you’d like to share your ideas for upcoming updates, here are some useful links:

• Steam Discussions, Discord, Reddit - discuss the game with the community and share your impressions
  
• Feature Request Tool - suggest specific new features

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

P.S. If you've picked up Against the Storm and have been playing it, make sure to leave a Steam review! They help us a lot!
[hr][/hr]
[h2]CHANGELOG[/h2]
Number of changes: 120+
Inspired by community: 55%

Changes marked with ⚡ were inspired by the community.

[h3]New content and features[/h3]

• ⚡ Added a new playable species - Foxes.
  • Majestic and mysterious creatures deeply bonded with the forest. They evolved a symbiosis with Blightrot through long exposure to Rainwater, which caused some visible side effects. Foxes are skilled scouts and feel comfortable working with Rainwater. They are highly susceptible to starvation.
    
  • Fox attributes:
    • Base Resolve: 5
      
    • Break Interval 2:00
      
    • Resilient: low
      
    • Demanding: low
      
    • Decadent: medium
  • Foxes have the following needs:
    • Any Housing
      
    • Fox Housing
      
    • Porridge
      
    • Skewers
      
    • Pickled Goods
      
    • Brawling
      
    • Luxury
      
    • Treatment
  • Foxes are completely resistant to Hostility of the Forest. They don’t suffer Resolve penalties from it (but they still are susceptible to the Storm Resolve penalty).
    
  • Fox firekeeper ability:
    • Forest Affinity - Fox Firekeepers have an unusual ability to calm the forest. Hostility from opened glades is lowered by 2 each.
  • Fox specializations:
    • Forest - a Fox scout assigned to a Glade Event reduces its working time by 5%.
      
    • Rainwater - a Fox assigned to a building tagged as “Rainwater” gets a +5 Resolve bonus.
• ⚡ Added 5 new buildings.
  • Fox House - Building specifically made for Foxes. Has to be built near a Hearth. Can house 2 residents.
    
  • Tea Doctor - A place where villagers can fulfill their need for: Treatment, Brawling. Passive effects: Vitality.
    • Vitality - A rich diet is beneficial for villagers' health. Gain a stack of the Vitality Effect (+1 to Global Resolve) for every 150 units of any Complex Food consumed. (the bonus is added retroactively)
  • Tea House - Can produce: Tea (T3), Porridge (T2), Waterskins (T1). Can use: Drizzle Water.
    
  • Distillery - Can produce: Wine (T2), Porridge (T2), Barrels (T2). Can use: Drizzle Water.
    
  • Beanery - Can produce: Porridge (T3), Pickled Goods (T2), Crystalized Dew (T1). Can use: Drizzle Water.
• ⚡ Added a new food item - Porridge.
  • Porridge is a low-tier complex food made from Rainwater (Drizzle, Clearance, or Storm Water) and Grain/Vegetables/Mushrooms/Herbs.
    
  • Porridge can be produced in the Field Kitchen, Tea House, Distillery, and Beanery.
    
  • Foxes and Humans have the need to consume Porridge.
• ⚡ Added 11 new Orders.
  • The Pack - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
    
  • Joyful Foxes (timed) - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
    
  • People of the Forest - reach a population threshold with Foxes.
    
  • Aid for the Fox Pack - deliver Storm Water and Packs of Provisions.
    
  • Fox Influx - deliver Herbs.
    
  • Fox Population - reach a population and Resolve threshold with Foxes.
    
  • Happy Foxes - reach a Resolve level with Foxes, solve glade events.
    
  • Homes For Foxes (timed) - have Fox Houses.
    
  • Fox Relatives - satisfy the need for Porridge and have Fox Houses.
    
  • Fox Resolve - reach a Resolve level with Foxes.
    
  • Fox Majority - reach a population threshold with Foxes, deliver Porridge.
• ⚡ Added 3 new perks.
  • Fox Pack Support - Ever since the Great Civil War, all species have been locked in a constant struggle to gain the Queen's favor. The Fox tribe remembers your help. (+3 to Foxes Resolve)
    
  • Puffed Grain - +1 to Porridge production. Gain additional Porridge every yield (from gathering, farming, or production).
    
  • Filling Dish - Porridge production increases by +1 for every 150 units of Drizzle Water produced.
• ⚡ Added one new glade event.
  • Fallen Fox Scouts - A group of fallen Fox scouts. They must have been sent to search the area to make sure it was safe... Apparently, something stood in their way. This find is causing grief among the Fox population.
• ⚡ Added 7 new Citadel Upgrades.
  • A new Brass Forge Upgrade on level 9 - unlocking the Beaver Starting Ability.
    
  • A new Pioneers’ Gate Upgrade on level 12 - unlocking the Fox Starting Ability.
    
  • A new Monastery of the Vigilant Flame Upgrade on level 8 - unlocking the Lizard Starting Ability.
    
  • A new First Dawn Headquarters Upgrade on level 10 - unlocking the Human Starting Ability.
    
  • A new Vanguard Spire Upgrade on level 8 - unlocking the Essential Fox House.
    
  • A new Vanguard Spire Upgrade on level 11 - unlocking the Harpy Starting Ability.
    
  • A new Obsidian Archive Upgrade on level 18 - taking on one of the earlier upgrades to the Grace Period (to allow for reshuffling in some earlier upgrades).
    
  • As the new upgrades were added in the middle of the upgrade tree, some old ones were pushed further up (more details on that in the balance section of this changelog).
• ⚡ Increased the level cap to 18.
  
• ⚡ Added 2 new Deeds.
  • Fox Settlement - Win a game with at least 25 Foxes.
    
  • Fox Utopia - Win a game with 30 Foxes, 15 x Fox House, 1 x Tea Doctor
• ⚡ Added 2 new decorations.
  • Overgrown Fence (Aesthetics) - unlocked by completing the Fox Settlement Deed.
    
  • Overgrown Fence Corner (Aesthetics) - unlocked by completing the Fox Utopia Deed.
• Added a new mechanic - Starting Abilities.
  • Each species now has a unique special ability (unlockable via Upgrades in the Smoldering City).
    
  • Starting abilities are triggered once for every available species in a given run - either at the beginning of the game (for species coming with the initial caravan) or when the first member of a new species joins the town.
    
  • Humans - reveal the location of 1 of the nearest patches of fertile soil.
    
  • Beavers - extend available trade offers by 1 in each neighboring town.
    
  • Lizards - start with 10 Tools.
    
  • Harpies - start with 50 Coats.
    
  • Foxes - reveal the location of 1 of the nearest geysers.
    
  • Added a new species attribute - Hunger Tolerance.
    
  • Each species now has a new attribute: Hunger Tolerance. The exact value of this new stat can be found in the Encyclopedia in the “species” tab.
    
  • Hunger Tolerance is the maximum number of hunger stacks a species can take before dying (Foxes: 3, Harpies: 4, Humans & Beavers: 6, Lizards: 12).
    
  • A villager dies as soon as the number of hunger stacks exceeds the tolerance.
    
  • If a villager is at risk of dying during the next break they take (meaning - they will find no food and have the maximum amount of hunger stacks), a notification will appear on the left side of the screen.

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• ⚡ Removed the Stormforged version of Mist Piercers to avoid overlap with the already existing Ancient Pact perk.
  
• Added the Rainwater specialization tag to multiple buildings.
  • Brickyard
    
  • Finesmith
    
  • Advanced Rain Collector
    
  • Cooperage
    
  • Rain Collector
    
  • Greenhouse
    
  • Geyser Pump
    
  • Clay Pit
    
  • Apothecary
    
  • Rainpunk Foundry
    
  • Alchemist Hut
• Added the Forest specialization tag to all Glade Events.
  
• Reshuffled some needs for Humans and Harpies.
  • Humans no longer require Jerky, and want Porridge instead.
    
  • Harpies no longer require Brawling, and want Clothing instead.
    
  • Harpies no longer require Skewers, and want Biscuits instead.
• Changed the Cleanliness need to Treatment (renamed it and changed the icon).
  
• Changed the Cosmetics resource to Tea (both the name and icon)..
  
• Added the Porridge recipe to the Field Kitchen.
  
• The Tavern can now fulfill the need for Luxury instead of Brawling.
  
• Changed the names of several perks.
  • Cosmetic Delivery Line was renamed to Tea Delivery Line.
    
  • Mortar and Pestle was renamed to Tea Infuser.
  • Cosmetic Specialization was renamed to Tea Specialization.
    
  • High Hygiene was renamed to Health Infusion.
• Rebalanced the biome effect in the Coral Forest. Inspiring Pressure now gives a bonus of 3% instead of 5%.
  
• Rebalanced the Archeologist’s Office upgrades in the Scarlet Orchard.
  • Ancient Strength - changed the bonus capacity from 5 to 3
    
  • Carved in Stone - changed the scout working speed increase from 10% to 5%.
    
  • Decryption - changed the Hostility reduction from -15 to -10.
• Removed two Orders.
  • Tooled Up
    
  • Outerwear
• Changed the reward for completing the Harpy Resolve Order. It now gives +2 to Biscuit production (instead of Skewers).
  
• Reshuffled multiple Citadel Upgrades. The individual changes are too numerous to describe, so we decided to quickly explain just the most crucial points.
  • Due to the addition of Fox Houses and Starting Abilities in the middle of the tech tree (levels 8 to 12), all upgrades above their level range were moved up slightly.
    
  • Some upgrades moved up by just one level, others were distributed a bit more freely in the higher parts of the tech tree.
    
  • There are now 3 upgrades on the new max. Level (18) for three branches: Obsidian Archive, First Dawn Headquarters, and Vanguard Spire.
    
  • Citadel Resource costs were adjusted to be in line with the level at which a given upgrade is located. A new higher price range was also added to upgrades on level 18 (variations of: 156 Food Stockpiles, 40 Artifacts, 40 Machinery).
    
  • Some upgrades were moved down the tech tree. For example, the first upgrade of the Vanguard Spire (Essential Human Houses) is now purchasable on level 4 instead of 5.
    
  • The Additional Caravan Slot reward was moved from the Vanguard Spire to the Obsidian Archive.
• Reshuffled level-up rewards. The individual changes are too numerous to describe, so we decided to simply give you a full list of all rewards and levels.

[h3]UX/UI improvements[/h3]

• ⚡ Added unique icons for every species in Orders that require achieving a certain resolve threshold with a given species. Previously it was just one icon (a human eye) for all of them.
  
• ⚡ Changed the objective name for all objectives based on delivering resources in the Orders UI to be clearer and easier to understand.
  
• Changed the icons for multiple resources in the game.
  • Wildfire Essence
    
  • Pipes
    
  • Drizzle Water
    
  • Clearance Water
    
  • Storm Water
• Changed the icons for multiple order objectives and ghost requests.
  • Solve Events with Empathy/Corruption/Loyalty.
    
  • Burn Blightrot Cysts.
    
  • Have Blightrot Cysts.
    
  • Attack a trader.
    
  • Starve villagers.
    
  • Use rainwater.
    
  • Forbid needs.
• Changed the icons for upgrades in the Mine and Geyser Pump.
  • Minecart
    
  • Box Crib
    
  • Pit Pony
    
  • Tank Capacity
    
  • Automaton
• Changed the icons of the unique effects on all biomes.
  
• Changed the icons of Rain Engine effects.
  • Efficiency
    
  • Reliability
    
  • Low Strain
• Changed the names of the favoring buff (Lighter Treatment) and debuff (Unfair Treatment) to Negligence and Favoring to avoid confusion with the new need - Treatment.
  
• Updated the Encyclopedia entry about food and hunger to the new mechanic of hunger stacks into account.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• ⚡ Fixed a bug with two orders (Pyromancer and Deeper Into the Wilds) having the same rewards.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with some small glades having incorrectly generated resources and geysers (and breaking pump placement because of it).
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with some glades being incorrectly generated with the Untamed Wilds modifier.
  
• ⚡ Fixed numerous edge cases related to glade generation and event/resource placement on the map.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Destroyed Caravan Glade Event having the same decision label twice.
  
• ⚡ Fixed the wording of the Monastery of the Holy Flame modifier description. It now correctly states that the effect applies to all needs, not just food.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with Lizard scouts having no animation when working on the Altar of Decay Glade Event.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with arrow keys being displayed as Num keys on the UI.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with scouts working on Archaeological Discoveries not having any animations.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug that caused the Lightning Forest Mystery to appear in the Coral Forest.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the state previous of the Long Live the Queen perk not showing correct values.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with amount indicators overlapping with checkmarks in the upgrade UI of geyser pumps.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Resolve Preview breaking when hovering over the favoring button as the last villager of a given species leaves.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with scaled-down ‘i’ letters looking jagged in some places in the UI.
  
• ⚡ Removed the state preview from the Improvised Tools Cornerstone.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with numerous sounds not stopping when the game was paused.
  
• ⚡ Fixed a bug with the Twitch Integration occasionally breaking when a chat poll was created.
  
• ⚡ Fixed an issue with the Engine Corrosion effect having an incorrect border color.
  
• ⚡ Fixed some typos and grammatical errors in Russian (for example World Map tooltips) and Japanese (Hostility description).
  
• Fixed an issue with the decision highlight in the event UI being cut-off.

[h3]Other[/h3]

• ⚡ Improved the overall performance and stability of the game, and updated the game’s engine to a newer version. This should eliminate numerous crashes and freezes, as well as improve overall FPS.
  
• ⚡ Added official support for 5 new languages. The game is now fully translated into:
  • Italian
    
  • Czech
    
  • Ukrainian
    
  • Hungarian
    
  • Turkish
• ⚡ Added a new music track to the Coral Forest (during Drizzle).
  
• Improved and tweaked a lot of ambient sounds in the game. Cleaned up some tracks to avoid mismatched background sounds.
  
• The Apothecary was changed visually from a Harpy building into a Fox building.
  
• The Clothier was changed visually from a universal building into a Harpy building.
  
• The Herb Garden was changed visually from a Beaver building into a Fox building.

[hr][/hr]
[h2]COMMUNITY CORNER[/h2]
Click to unfold:

[expand]
TonyShape is killing it again with two new comic strips:

Meat Specialization by ToneShape (Source: Twitter)

Deal by TonyShape (Source: Reddit)

Greenhouse by Norman Abrahm Letterman (Source: Discord)

Trade by Party Magician (Source: Discord)

Cosmetic gone, but not forgotten by Party Magician (Source: Discord)

Let’s also distinguish some well-designed settlements:

Human Utopia by löyly (Source: Discord)

Fences by Norman Abrahm Letterman (Source: Discord)

First base I'm proud of by u/Bogmonstergamer (Source: Reddit)

Symmetrical by u/Bogmonstergamer (Source: Reddit)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2960599441

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2961200815

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2959514193

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2959324923

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2955871534

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2954236947
[/expand]

That’s all folks! We wish you an awesome weekend and a great time with the new update.

[h2]PREVIOUS UPDATES[/h2]
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/6659175566886354000
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/5309220323997279603
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/3667656258520766684