Against the Storm News

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
Last week, we released an Experimental Branch update with the new upcoming biome - the Ashen Thicket. We're grateful to everyone who decided to give it a try and shared their thoughts.

We've received a lot of feedback about the new biome over the past few days, and we just released a new patch in which we tried to address some of your comments.

With this patch, we wanted to not only tweak the numbers in existing systems, but also add some new things and experiment a bit with the overall feel/identity of the new biome. So, after a lot of internal back and forth, we settled on an idea that seemed very promising - the Ashen Thicket as a biome heavily focused on mining and industry.

In particular, we've changed the way you acquire Thunderblight Shards, rebalanced the resource layout in the Ashen Thicket, and added a new passive effect that buffs mines. We have also decided to add a brand-new "mineable" good to the game - Salt. With the addition of this new resource, we try to flesh out the mining part of the game, and also help with some existing recipes that could use a little boost - like Biscuits or Paste. All of these additions seemed to fit together nicely and added to the overall "industrial wasteland" feel of the Ashen Thicket.

Of course, in the meantime, we have also tried to address the more basic things - like the numerical balance of some of the rewards and triggers in the Cornerstone Forge. We hope that all of this combined will have a positive impact on the new biome.

You can read more about all the changes below.

[h3]New content[/h3]

• Added a new resource - Salt.
  • Salt is obtained in the Mine and requires Salt veins.
    
  • The byproduct of Salt veins is Sea Marrow (with a 30% drop rate).
    
  • Added Salt to multiple existing recipes.
    • Biscuits
      
    • Paste (as a substitute for Dye)
      
    • Crystalized Dew
      
    • Incense
      
    • Jerky (as a substitute of fuel)
      
    • Waterskins
  • Added Salt to some traders and trade routes for settlements in certain biomes.
    
  • Added Salt to reward packs from the Hooded Trickster and Strider Port.
    
  • Added Salt as a reward in some Glade Events.
    
  • Salt is now also a byproduct of Kelpwood Trees in the Coastal Grove and Water Strider Molt nodes.
    
  • Added Salt veins to the Ashen Thicket, Sealed Forest, and Coral Forest.
• Added 3 new orders related to Salt.
  • Salt Miner
    
  • Salty Delivery
    
  • Salt Fever
• Added a new perk related to Salt.
  • Salt Pick - +1 to Salt production. Gain an additional Salt every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).
• Added a new type of Rainpunk Drill that can spawn in small glades. It spawns salt veins after being repaired.
  
• Added a new biome effect to the Ashen Thicket.
  • Royal Mining Operation - This region is well known for its rich mineral and ore deposits. Every 2 workers in a mine increase the chances of producing double yields while mining by 3%.
    
  • This, combined with the addition of Salt, the change to the old biome effect, and the rebalance of resources (listed in the balance section below) should result in a more mining-focused playstyle in the Ashen Thicket. We hope that this will be a step in the direction of a more unique biome identity.

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Rebalanced multiple triggers, rewards, and penalties in the Cornerstone Forge.
  • The exact changes to the Cornerstone Forge are too numerous to count, so we will focus on the general direction and some notable examples in this section of the changelog.
    
  • Removed some uninteresting or incorrectly scaling triggers. For example: “ongoing events”, “workers in upgraded Geyser Pump”.
    
  • Removed some of the least interesting rewards. For example: Incense, Resin, Grace Period, trader arrival speed, newcomer arrival rate.
    
  • Changed the numbers in a lot of hooks to make them more appealing. For example: dead villagers, produce pottery, working engines, ongoing trade routes, and more.
    
  • Buffed some rewards. For example: trade route speed, hostility, goods in general.
    
  • Added new rewards to the pool. For example: Sea Marrow, species Resolve, chance for double rewards from events, Parts.
    
  • Added new triggers to the pool. For example: constructed geyser Pumps.
    
  • Rebalanced a lot of penalties. For example: impatience, resolve.
    
  • Removed some penalties. For example: destroy buildings, yearly Blood Flowers.
    
  • Added new penalties. For example: higher perk prices, impatience rate.
    
  • Reduced the number of penalty choices from 4 to 3.
    
  • Adjusted how some rewards are drawn with what triggers. For example: retroactive triggers should now have rewards that scale better with them.
• Rebalanced the resource makeup of the Ashen Thicket.
  • Removed Grain nodes.
    
  • Added Root nodes.
    
  • Added Coal and Salt veins.
    
  • Added Sea Marrow to trees.
    
  • Increased the spawn rate of veins.
• Changed how Thunderblight Shard acquisition works in the Ashen Thicket.
  • Removed the old biome effect and added a new one.
    
  • Deeply Hidden Riches - Gain a Thunderblight Shard for mining 50 Copper Ore, Coal, and Salt (combined). You can receive up to 3 shards, each requiring more resources to be mined.
    
  • Subsequent Shards require more mining. The second one requires 150, the last one 250.
• Biscuits can now be made using Eggs.

[h3]UI/UX[/h3]

• Changed the description of the Cornerstone Forge biome effect to clearly state which Cornerstone choices (in which years) are removed when playing in the Ashen Thicket (rather than just vaguely stating that there are fewer choices).
  
• Updated the Mine description for clarity.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a bug where workers would sometimes not carry or fetch resources from the closest warehouse (and walk to one that is far away instead).
  
• Fixed a bug where the Cornerstone Forge biome effect did not remove Epic Cornerstone choices from games in the Ashen Thicket, despite the description stating that it did.
  • After the fix, Epic Cornerstones will no longer be offered to players in Years 3, 5, and 7.
• Fixed a bug where random resource rewards were not being counted correctly in the Experimental Cornerstone tooltip.
  
• Fixed a bug where Experimental Cornerstone tooltips would stay on the screen after closing the forge window with ESC.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Big Shelter Ruin was still spawning in certain biomes.
  
• Fixed a bug where a DLC-locked biome could appear in a Daily Expedition.
  
• Fixed a bug where events were incorrectly displayed in the in-game encyclopedia.
  
• Fixed a bug where some rewards and triggers were being drawn twice in the same pool of options in the Cornerstone Forge.
  
• Fixed a bug where the ruined Fishing Hut had incorrect rewards tied to the “salvage” option.
  
• Fixed a bug where the “fulfill service needs” trigger had a missing tooltip.
  
• Fixed a bug that was drawing the wrong reward in the Cornerstone Forge instead of the Hostility reduction effect.
  
• Fixed a bug where the “workers in upgraded mine” trigger was not working.

The current Experimental Branch version is 1.5.03.

Once you give it a try, please let us know how you like the new changes!

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]

It's been almost a month since the release of the Keepers of the Stone DLC. For us, it has been a time of great joy to see so many of you exploring the Coastal Grove and building homes for the Frogs. We're grateful to all of you who trusted us and decided to give it a try.

This past month has also been a time of reflection. We studied your feedback and analyzed reports. We've released five patches to iron out the issues that have slipped through the cracks. We also formulated a plan for larger changes to address more common feedback.

Here are the highlights of the changes coming in the near future.

New biome: Ashen Thicket
Many of you have expressed concern about the price of the DLC, that it doesn't match the content it provides. We agree. Although it was paired with an extensive Fishing Update, the DLC itself wasn't "meaty" enough.

That's why we're adding another biome to the DLC: the Ashen Thicket. 

Ashen Thicket (work in progress, subject to change)

Ashen Thicket
Once a thriving forest of giant spruce trees, this land has been ravaged by relentless industrial exploitation and the devastating Blightstorm. Now reduced to a barren wasteland, the forest is littered with broken trunks and remnants of its former glory. This region is infamous for its abundance of Thunderblight Shards - magically charged amber crystals essential in crafting Cornerstones.

The Ashen Thicket's unique biome mechanic is the Cornerstone Forge. In this brand-new building, you can craft your own Cornerstones (up to three per game) in exchange for Thunderblight Shards collected from Dangerous and Forbidden Glade Events.

Cornerstone Forge (subject to change)

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Creating Cornerstones
To create a Cornerstone, you must choose a condition and a reward/effect. The effect stacks based on how many times the condition is triggered. Both conditions and effects have a random rating (stars). You can choose an optional penalty to increase the rating of either the condition or the effect (indicated by a line connecting the penalty to one of them). Finally, you need to choose an icon and name your new Cornerstone.

In addition to the new building, the Ashen Thicket comes with all new visuals (trees, terrain, fog, seasonal lighting, etc.), new music tracks, and a resource balance that will set it apart from other biomes.

What's more, you can already play it on the Experimental Branch!

The Experimental version of the biome doesn't include the new music and visual assets. The balance may feel wonky and you may encounter some bugs. If that doesn't scare you off (it should!), you can switch to the Experimental Branch by following this guide:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3210939497

⚠️ The Ashen Thicket biome requires the Keepers of the Stone DLC.

The full changelog for the Experimental Update 1.5 (which includes the new biome) can be found here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4525647157467807755


If you decide to give it a try, we'd love to hear your thoughts! The best place to share them is in the comments section of the changelog announcement or in the #experimental channels on our Discord server.

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[h2]Other changes[/h2]
Aside from adding the new biome, we're also making a few other changes to the DLC.

[h3]Frogs unlock level[/h3]
We're lowering the Frog unlock level from 13 to 9 (or lower). The reason we decided to make them so high in the first place was the learning curve - due to their quirks and species attributes, they are more likely to be a beginner's trap. The new unlock level should significantly reduce the time it takes to unlock them.

[h3]"Feeling Lucky" achievement[/h3]
We're also reworking the "Feeling Lucky" achievement. We're aware that many of you found it too frustrating. While we don't have a concrete idea yet, unlocking it should no longer require divine intervention and a PhD in mathematics.

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[h2]Update 1.5[/h2]
All new changes will be part of the upcoming Update 1.5. It will also include several improvements to the base game. We'll have more news about the update in the future.

Stay up to date:
Follow Eremite Games Follow Hooded Horse

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In the meantime, we hope you continue to enjoy the game and have an eventful time crafting Cornerstones (if you dare!).

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
We just released a new update for the Experimental Branch with the new biome - Ashen Thicket - coming to the Keepers of the Stone DLC.

Check out the full announcement for more information and previews:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4525647157467807753

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[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]New content[/h3]

• Added a new biome - the Ashen Thicket.
  • Ashen Thicket - Once a thriving forest of giant spruce trees, this land has been ravaged by relentless industrial exploitation and the devastating Blightstorm. Now reduced to a barren wasteland, the forest is littered with broken trunks and remnants of its former glory. This region is infamous for its abundance of Thunderblight Shards - magically charged amber crystals, essential in the crafting of Cornerstones.
    
  • In this biome, you start next to an ancient Cornerstone Forge. There, you can craft 3 Experimental Cornerstones in each game.
    
  • To craft an Experimental Cornerstone, you will need a Thunderblight Shard - the crystalized sap of the legendary Giant Ashen Trees. You can acquire it by completing Dangerous and Forbidden Glade Events in the Ashen Thicket.
    
  • To create a Cornerstone, you must choose a condition and a reward/effect. The effect stacks based on how many times the condition is triggered. Both conditions and effects have a random rating (stars). You can choose an optional penalty to increase the rating of either the condition or the effect (indicated by a line connecting the penalty to one of them). Finally, you need to choose an icon and name your new Cornerstone.
    
  • The Ashen Thicket has the following resources:
    • Trees: Wood, Resin, Berries
      
    • Nodes: Grain, Vegetables, Eggs, Fish, Algae, Plant Fiber, Leather, Clay, Herbs.
      
    • Ore: Copper
  • All the assets in the Experimental Update are placeholders and will be replaced when the proper update is released.
    
  • To generate the Ashen Thicket tiles on the World Map, you need to start a new Cycle.
• Added 2 new Forest Mysteries.
  • Fish Flood (Drizzle) - +3 to Fish production. Gain an additional Fish every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).
    
  • Shedding Season (Drizzle) - +3 to Leather production. Gain an additional Leather every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).

[h3]Balance[/h3]

• Reduced the production times in the Mine.
  • Coal - from 40 seconds to 30 seconds.
    
  • Copper Ore - from 40 seconds to 25 seconds.
• Changed how biomes are generated on the World Map. The distribution of all of them should now be more or less even, with the exception of the Cursed Royal Woodlands.
  
• Blightrot Cyst-related Orders now scale based on the Blight-related difficulty modifiers. This means that on higher difficulties, where more Cysts spawn, the Order requirements are harder, and on lower difficulties, the same Orders are a bit easier.
  
• Workers transporting goods will no longer choose the Warehouse that’s closest to them in a straight line, and will instead take into account roads and open glades.
  
• Idle scouts will now start walking from the Hearth to their assigned Glade Event as soon as the last resource/item is being brought to the event.
  
• Lowered the number of Beaver Houses required by the Beaver Colony Timed Order (from 6 to 5 on the Medium slot and from 8 to 6 on the Hard slot).
  
• Increased the Hearth Corruption Resistance bonus from 250 to 1500 in the Miracle of Strength buff in the Beacon Tower.
  
• Removed the Porridge recipe from the Apothecary. Added Dye instead.
  
• Removed the Dye recipe from the Cookhouse. Added Porridge instead.
  
• Changed the rewards for the Forum order. Removed the Advanced Press perk and Dye, added the Woodworking Tools perk and Reeds instead.

[h3]UX/UI[/h3]

• Added a description explaining the possible reward choices when hovering the cursor over a Royal Resupply icon.
  
• When a trader arrives right at the beginning of Drizzle (because their arrival was previously blocked by the Storm), they will appear in the settlement before the auto pause triggers.
  
• Added a setting for the default fishing bait mode in the Options menu.
  
• World Event effects are now recorded in the Game History tab.
  
• Building entrances are now shown when selecting a ruin.
  
• World Map modifiers now show Hostility scaling values for all difficulty levels (in the form of X/Y/Z in the tooltip description).
  
• Removed the experience reward icon from various Queen’s Hand Trial elements.
  
• Added building categories to the in-game encyclopedia (displayed just below the name after selecting a building).
  
• The “Available Housing” tooltip now shows separate values for already built houses and houses under construction.
  
• The Blight Post entry in the in-game encyclopedia now also shows the Purging Fire recipe on the same page.
  
• The icon frame for not yet unlocked Hearth Level effects in the Hearth Panel is now gray (to indicate more clearly that a given effect must first be unlocked in the Citadel).
  
• Reworded the button text in the Somber Procession World Event to improve clarity.

[h3]Bug fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a bug where the Furniture perk would not increase Frog Resolve.
  
• Fixed a bug where some new buildings were not targeted by destruction effects (like lightning).
  
• Fixed a bug where some normal and timed Orders would appear in the Coastal Grove, even though the biome's resource makeup should have prevented this (for example, Orders for copper, even though there is no copper in the biome).
  
• Fixed a bug where the Harmony Spirit Altar would not count the Holy Guild House as a viable service building.
  
• Fixed an outdated encyclopedia entry on building materials.
  
• Fixed a bug that was awarding Packs of Provisions twice for salvaging the Provisioner ruin.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Archaeologist’s Office was labeled as a decoration in its UI panel.
  
• Fixed a bug where the Beacon Tower building label was misplaced in its UI panel.

[h3]Other[/h3]

• Ruins in special glades (partially destroyed settlements, etc.) will now spawn with their orientation adjusted to the road most of the time.

The current Experimental Branch version is 1.5.01E.

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[h2]About the Experimental Branch[/h2]
This Experimental Update features only the mechanical and balance aspects. All the visual assets are placeholders that will be replaced when the proper update goes live.

Important: as with any other Experimental Update, the upcoming changes are not localized, there can be bugs, and the balance is likely to feel off. If this doesn’t sound fun to you, we recommend skipping this experiment.

You can find more information about the Experimental Branch and how to access it in our guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3210939497

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We look forward to hearing your impressions of the new changes. The best place to share them is in the comments section of this changelog announcement or in the #experimental channels on our Discord server.

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
We just released a small hotfix with two improvements:

• Fixed a bug that prevented Blight Post upgrades from being unlocked in the Queen's Hand Trial mode.
  
• Made changes that should allow the game to load again when emulating the game on MacOS.
  
  
  
  • Unfortunately, since Against the Storm doesn't officially support macOS, we can't guarantee that similar situations won't happen again in the future. The game isn't going through QA testing on macOS, so such issues may slip through unnoticed. However, we greatly appreciate your reports, which have helped us identify the source of the problem and prevent it from recurring. We'll continue doing our very best to ensure the game remains playable when emulated.

The current version is 1.4.17.

May the storm be gentle on you,
Eremite Games

[h3]Greetings, Viceroys![/h3]
We’ve just released a new patch with a fresh set of improvements and fixes based on your feedback. We hope it goes without saying, but your support and input mean the world to us. Thank you!

[h2]Changelog[/h2]