Ylands News

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tl;dr
- Custom Images added for more personalised UI's
- Usable in Particle Effects
- Shareable via Compositions

Hey there Ylanders!

While we are working tirelessly on update 1.5, the first part of the big Exploration overhaul, our Editor team has also cooked up a pretty nifty new feature and as you might have seen in the video above, it will be a lot of fun 😁

We're calling it "Custom Images" and what this lets you do, is import your own images into the game and then use them in a variety of ways. So for example, as you have seen in the video, you can make the HUD much more personalised and add images, that aren't available in our catalogue. You can also use these images in custom windows or on custom controls when making a game for the mobile platform. 



But that's all still very much the domain of the UI, but another area, where you'll be able to use your Custom Images is in particle effects, so now you will have absolute control over the special effects featured in your game.

Adding new images will be done through a new Custom Image Library game logic and it will be very simple and straightforward and it won't work just in games, but also in Compositions. This way you can then share whole libraries via compositions.

Of course, there will be a system in place to make sure vulgar and inappropriate images aren't uploaded into the game and before the update, we will post here on the forums rules, on what is acceptable to upload and what isn't.

And that's it for today Ylanders, so let us know, how you are planning on using these new Custom Images and until next time, stay classy Ylanders 👋

tl;dr
- New Grenade and Bow improvements
- Better animations and aiming
- Coming in Update 1.5

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Hey there Ylanders!

Some pretty exciting news today adventurers regarding bows and grenades. Yes it is a bit of a weird pair up but hear me out 😅

So first off we made leap and strides in bow shooting and in 1.5 we'll be introducing countless improvements, but the ones you'll probably notice the most is the appearance of the actual arrow while shooting the bow (and the crossbow btw and I will not get drawn into a discussion if a crossbow is technically a bow or not 😁) and the overall aiming improvements we made to the bow. For instance, you'll be able to see the trajectory after you fire the arrow, making it easier to correct your aim. Bow animations have been also improved, but maybe most interestingly, now when you hold the bow drawn for too long, your arms will get tired and your accuracy will suffer greatly, making your shot much more unpredictable. 

The second item on our list today are the grenades. Grenades are very powerful weapons but haven't seen too much use in Ylands, because they are cumbersome to wield and inaccurate. Well no more! Grenades now how two modes. The quick throw (which is the standard mode) lets you toss a grenade fast in the direction you are facing. The height of the throw is affected by the angle you are looking at the target. But if you press down the right mouse button, you enter the aimed throw mode, in which the trajectory of the grenade will be visualised and you'll be able to lob that exploding pineapple 🍍 exactly where you want it. 

Improvements to both the Grenades and the Bows are great fun and even our team of Designers made a small multiplayer map to try it out and had an awesome time with it 😁 So a lot to look forward to 😊

And that's all for today Ylanders, so don't forget to tune in into tomorrow's stream at 16:00 CET and until then, stay classy Ylanders!

tl;dr
- Streaming every Friday at 16:00
- Following the Competition
- Q&A's with Team
- Looking for talented Streamers

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Hey there Ylanders!

This week we have more of a relaxed topic. We'll be talking about our new streaming sessions we're doing and what we're planning for the future.

So as you might have noticed, every Friday at 16:00 CET over at https://www.twitch.tv/ylands we stream for an hour or two talking about Ylands, right now about the Competition and overall having a good time. If you haven't seen our streams, you can check one out tomorrow!

But from the get-go we wanted you, the players and members of this fabulous community to have a say in what we stream, so if you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see, what games in Ylands you'd want to watch me play and what you would like to talk about, always let me know because I'd be more than happy to oblige 😊 What we are planning to do though is to keep monitoring the Competition and all the wonderful submissions we're already seeing pop up in the Workshop. We'll be playing these games predominantly and having a look, how they play, how they work, what we like and dislike and provide feedback to the Creators. And after the Competition finishes, we definitely want to feature the winning games on the Stream and if possible invite the Creators unto the Stream, to tell us something about the game, what was their inspiration and how they made it. It, of course, isn't a requirement of the Creators but it'd be really cool 😅

During this time we'd also love to have some live Interviews and Q&A's with members of our team, so you get to know them a bit more and we'd love to have a streaming party, where a bunch of our team members get together in one room to stream and talk about Ylands 😊 But that will probably have to wait, till it is safe to meet up in bigger groups again.

We are also looking into more ways to make the watching experience more enjoyable and how to enhance our streaming. So if you have any suggestions about that, they'd be really appreciated. And finally, we'll be looking into finding some fun streamers, that would also like to stream about Ylands and give them an opportunity to stream with us or even host them on our channel 😁

So look out for all that and until next time,

stay classy Ylanders!

tl;dr
- FAQ with our Project Lead
- New Update 1.5 news
- Ask your questions in thread below

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Hey there Ylanders!

We have a very special Dev Diary today because Aleš swung by to tell us something more about update 1.5. We collected some frequently asked questions about the update on the forums and asked Aleš to clarify them for us and boy did we find out a lot of interesting and exciting stuff about Update 1.5 🤩

So read on and if you have any follow-up questions, don't hesitate to ask in the thread below and hopefully, Aleš will have time to answer them too 😊

Will travelling from one world to another involve travelling into other player worlds?
Yes, that's exactly what this means - although it doesn't need to be just another player's world. We plan to have dedicated servers for all biomes that players will be able to visit and explore. Our current working name for those ylands is "Sinking worlds" because after some time the original world will disappear and will be replaced by a newly generated one. This way there will always be places to explore and gather resources.


How will your starting world look? Which biome will it have? Will it have enough resources?
The starting world will be only one biome. You will be able to choose from a selection of biomes (not all since some would be too harsh for a newly arriving castaway). It will have resources that, among others, allow you to create a ship. To get resources not available in your world you will have to travel to different worlds with different biomes.


Will strangers be raiding players own personal worlds?
As long as your world has MP enabled and is not protected by a password then yes, this would be possible.

Will building a ship be much harder or will the basics stay the same?
No, it will be the same.


Will these changes (summon-able and temporarily invincible boats) affect all maps or just exploration maps? (Will boats in other mini-games also become invincible?)
No, these changes will be present only in Exploration.


Will ships that players have already built be compatible? Or do players need to wait till 1.5 to build a compatible vessel?
We are still looking into this. Technically it is possible, but it opens a door to certain kinds of exploits that's why we're still analyzing it.

How will the map from the concept art released a few Dev Diaries back be implemented into the new Exploration?
What you're referring to is a world map (please note that the final version you'll get in 1.5 will be visually slightly different) and it serves several purposes - firstly you use it to select in what biome your starting yland will be located. Secondly, you can use it (since it'll be accessible via your ingame menu all the time) to check ylands in other biomes and travel to them - if you are steering a ship and are located at the outer area of your current world.

How will the ship summoning mechanic work?
You will be able to summon your ship (if you have one) via a Radial menu button. It will appear in a nearby empty sea area. Also, you will see your ship's location on your map.


Will the number of players able to play together change?
The maximum will remain the same.


Will you revisit the trading mechanic in 1.5 or later?
This is something we're discussing. Definitely not in 1.5, but we might do some changes in 1.6 based on what we see happen in games.


Will the worlds you travel to be procedurally generated and in a way infinite, or will there be a limit to the number of different explorable worlds?
There will be a certain number of Yland maps per biome region - right now it's 20 in total. But some of them will change from time to time.

Will Update 1.5 be a polished final product?
No. While the core mechanics such as travelling between worlds will be fully functional, this is such a big change that we will need feedback and will very likely make some adjustments. We will be providing a list of features that will be temporary or subject to change. Also in 1.6 we would like to focus on the ylands themselves.

Will we ever see explore on mobile?
Bringing Exploration to mobiles is actually one of my personal priorities for 2021 but never at the expense of the PC experience. Mobile will have to work with PC standards and bypass them if necessary, not the other way round (dumbing down the PC version to facilitate the mobile version is a big No for me).


You mentioned 1.5 will be about "Exploration, Travelling and Socialization". What are the Travel and Socialization aspects of 1.5?
In order to get resources to craft everything, you will be required to travel and explore new places. You will get to meet new people - some of the ylands you discover might be someone's worlds and pay them a friendly (or less friendly) visit, you can meet with other players when gathering resources or exploring worlds that don't belong to anyone.


And that's it from us this week, but definitely leave a question if you have one and your feedback in the thread below and as always, stay classy Ylanders!

A big thank you for the questions goes especially to RedEagle_P1., Murcin, bojo2736, WijkagentAdrie and ocnoglittle. Thanks guys 😊

tl;dr
- Ship much more important in Exploration
- Travel worlds, visit friends
- Link your ship to your Avatar
- Bring friends with you
- New Exploration features ASAP = a bit rough around the edges

Hey there, fellow Ylanders, Aleš here!

We are working very hard on update 1.5 that will, among other things, mark what we believe to be the birth of a new generation of Exploration. I am sure you would like to hear something more about it so let me give you some detail.

1.5 will be about exploration, travelling and socialization. We will give you a world made out of various maps to explore and to do so, you will need a ship. Your ship. In the new Exploration, your ship becomes the single most important object. You and your ship will become one. You will sail it to different games to gather resources, meet and trade with other players (or steal their stuff 😅). After you store it on your ship you will sail back home... or maybe explore some other worlds?



You will always have one ship (well, after you build it or get it from someone else) that you will "link" to your avatar and which you won't be able to lose. You will be able to (un)summon it as you see fit via the radial menu. But what about your unfortunate friends that may not possess their own vessel? Just pick them up and go exploring the foreign lands together. Exploring in Ylands has never been so much fun.



And if you just want to live your happy life on your ylands and the idea of sailing the high seas scares you? Well, that is just fine. Having a ship isn't a must. You can still welcome your friends or random explorers who come sailing to your corner of the world. Even that sounds dreadful? Well, just keep your world multiplayer mode disabled and live the hermit life you always craved for.

As I said 1.5 will be the beginning of a whole new Exploration, with other new radical changes coming in 1.6 and every other following update bringing further improvements. We know that you have waited so long for Exploration to get back on track and because of that we decided to give you the first changes as soon as possible even if it means the experience will be a bit rough around the edges. So along with the update, we will present you with the list of what we expect to change (for example in 1.5 your ship will be invincible, which will later change etc.)  so that you can provide feedback and that we can, once again, continue making Ylands a cool, classy game together.



There's still a lot more to talk about but we'll continue some other time. Thank you for your patience and stay classy!