Ylands News

tl;dr
- Big progress with Editor
- Exploration not what we want it to be
- Huge plans with Exploration
- Changes soon

Hey there, fellow ylanders!

My name is Aleš Ulm, and even though I wasn't that visible during the last two years or so when I was Ylands Creative Director, I was still here, listening to all you had to say. For those that don't know me - I've been with Ylands right from the very first day of development, acting most of the time as the Project Lead. I helped designed the game in the very beginning when it was nothing else than a sandbox survival. For more than three years I discussed our progress and features with you, the players on a daily basis. I met with you during many conventions.

Well, guess what. Some time ago I became once again Ylands Project Lead, taking the responsibility for every aspect of the game and the direction it's heading. I would like to use the opportunity to resume our dialogue where it stopped, and, in a way, also the game.

Let me tell you how I see the current situation.

We have made huge progress with the Ylands as a platform. It's already possible to create some truly amazing games in Ylands (some are already on the way). The Editor is faster. more user friendly and more powerful and being extended all the time. And we will continue with that.

But I know that is not what so many of you are waiting for me to say. I know that you are worried about the current state of Exploration.

Right now Exploration is not what we would like it to be. There are many things that I see is wrong with it and I won't get into the details in here because in the end for me there's only one single thing that can be said. There is not much exploration in Exploration anymore. A lot of the fun that was once there is now gone.

What if your game was part of something much, much bigger? With so many new places to explore? Choose, which type of Islands you want to visit next 😊 
(image WiP)

The very first thing I did when I became Project Lead again was to make sure Exploration is returned back on the path we once were on. And that's what we're working on right now and that is what you will get the first taste of in the next update 1.5. I know you've waited way too long for Exploration to become better so I feel there's no time to lose. I want to give you something as soon as possible. A clear signal that Exploration is back in big style and even if it's just the first step (even though a very significant), you will be able to tell that we hear you.


A lot has been said about making Exploration better, so now we do it. And don't worry, we won't keep you in the dark until 1.5 - quite on the contrary, we will start talking about what's going to change rather soon. 🙂 
Thanks for having so much patience and staying classy, Ylanders 😁 

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Hey there Ylanders!

Update 1.4 is here and because it brings Creators Club to Ylands, it is one of the most important milestones for the game. With it, we will finally be able to offer creators the support we always wanted and that they deserve.

Creators joining this club of elite like-minded fellows, will not only enjoy numerous benefits (such as better exchange rates, cool in-game swag and more) but will have the chance to get real-life rich by applying for a Creators Commission.

With this addition, the Ylands ecosystem is finally complete as we've envisioned it; creators can monetize any aspect of their creations - players can choose between countless amazing games, and support their favourite creations - and that creativity and support can now have real-world value.

 We are beyond excited for this new stage for Ylands and we will do our very best to keep supporting the creators, our players, and the platform on which they interact.

Of course, we have packed this update full of other goodies as well - so read on to find out more!

Update 1.4 - Creators Club - major features

• Creators Club: exclusive in-game perks, the Creators Commission and more awaits those who join this prestigious and exclusive club of creative individuals
  
• Workshop update: to celebrate the new Creators Club, we have completely revamped our Workshop - find the games you want to play quicker and easier than ever before or upload your newest masterpiece with absolutely no hassle.
  
• Revised main menu: we have completely rebuilt our main menu to facilitate ease of use and most importantly: discoverability
  
• In-game messaging system: never miss a message from your friends (or from us) with a brand new messaging system, now available within the game
  
• Improved shooting: we have also completely rebuilt how gun handling works - you will find using guns, pistols and everything in-between is now significantly better than before
  
• Game profiling tools: a set of tools & indicators that will help creators optimize their games
  
• Bug fixes and improvements: We have fixed and improved many different aspects of the game with the help of our community and of course we have added some cool assets you'll be able to use in your custom games. 
  
• Visual Scripting Lightning Fast: The visual scripting interface is now faster than ever, so no more waiting and more creating
  

And that's not all! Keep your eyes peeled and your creativity sharp for the upcoming season of competitions - a year-long celebration of our creators, the community, and everything Ylands with fabulous and amazing prizes!

And that's it for now, so until next time, stay classy!

P.S. You can find the Changelog here: https://ylands.com/community/topic/28311-14-creators-club-changelog/ 

tl;dr
- Bunch of Photos from our Creators Club video
- Creators Club is coming and it's going to be really cool!
- Major General should stick to polygon graphics 😁

Hey there Ylanders!

We are cooking up something huge for Update 1.4. We have mentioned it in the past, but the Creator’s Club is finally happening and it will be awesome! Unfortunately, can’t say much more about it right now, but we are also recording a fun video to go with it to explain, what Creator’s Club will mean for you. So here are a few photos from the shoot and boy, did we have a lot of fun 😅




What do you think about real-life Major General? Is he a strapping young fellow or is he missing that polygon charm?

And that's it for now, so have fun and stay classy Ylanders 👋

Hey there, fellow ylanders!

Adam is enjoying his well-deserved vacation, but the Ylands machine never stops...

Firstly there is a new Project Lead on the block, which happens to be Ales Ulm. Many of you probably know him - he has a long history with Ylands after all. He was there from its very beginning and even held the position of Project Lead in the past.

Even though everyone is now probably extremely interested in finding out more about him and feel, that this information is what they have been subconsciously looking for their whole lives, we have more important things to discuss and I know that as soon as we release 1.4, Ales will time to present his visions to you fully.

Ok, so you want to know at least something? What does his return to the Project Lead position mean for Ylands?

Firstly, we immediately started fixing Exploration and making it once again about... well... exploration. And playing with friends. And sailing. And that other thing. If everything goes right, you should see the first (quite huge) change already in 1.5. and you will see that Exploration is anything but dead.

Also, we will now pay significantly more attention to testing. Not only we are taking more time with it, but this week, we plan to make the first Experimental version of the game available for all.



These Experimental Builds will be released roughly two weeks before a new update release. This time it will be PC Steam only, but with next major updates, other platforms will have this special version as well. If you are a creator dying to see the new features first and provide us with feedback (especially if you see something wrong with your existing game) you're more than welcome to give it a try! :)

To find more information about this Experimental version, please follow this link:

Public Experimental Branch

There is so much more we want to talk to you about. So many plans and so many cool things happening... but we now have to fully focus on delivering 1.4 in the best shape possible. I will definitely talk to you again soon. And until then... stay classy, ylanders!

tl;dr
- New Menu Tags and Categories
- Call to Arms for Creators
- Add your tags

Hey there Ylanders! 

So, this Dev Diary is a bit of a call to arms to all Creators that have games on the workshop, because we need your help. As we have talked about previously, we are adding a brand-new menu to the game with cool new functionalities and categories, but this also means, that we needed to unify the tags system to accommodate these new categories. And since if we released the update with the menu, there wouldn’t be any games in all the categories and that would be a great shame. So, we decided to open up the new category system on the workshop a bit early, so you can add the relevant tag to your game and when update 1.4 rolls out, your games will already be in the right category ready to get discovered by players coming in. 



All you need to do now is go into the workshop and check out your games. Right now they shouldn’t have any tags. You just have to pick one, that is most relevant to your game and when Update 1.4 rolls out, your game is going to be in that category. These are the categories you’ll be able to choose from:  

Action 

Adventure 

Casual 

Combat 

Educational 

Idle 

Logic 

Other 

RPG 

Racing 

Simulation 

Strategy 



So definitely a lot to choose from and in the future we might be adding even more if the need arises, but these should be enough for now. Add your tags Creators and make your games as visible as possible.  

And until next time, Stay Classy Ylanders!