Ylands News

Ahoy Ylanders,

We've been hard at work on the upcoming update, which we titled Tremendous Techtree. And before we release it, we bring you the experimental build!

Available only to Steam users, the Experimental build offers you guys a chance to:

• test upcoming features & changes
  
• report any bugs & provide early feedback (#experimental_build room on our Discord server is a great way to do that)
  

HOW TO TRY THE EXPERIMENTAL BUILD

2. optional* If you've been playing for a while and are not a newer player, please delete the contents of this folder C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\Bohemia Interactive\Ylands\Crashes
   
3. go to your Steam library and right-click Ylands
   
4. select Properties, click the "Betas" tab, and enter "PublicExpYlands" as the password (excluding the double quotes)
   
5. this will unlock the "i_will_back_up_my_saves" branch. (Please note that you don't need to back up your saves anymore this is just the name of the branch).
   
6. after selecting the branch and confirming it, Steam will begin downloading the new experimental branch
   

[h2]SUPER IMPORTANT INFO!
[/h2]

• Any progress you make on the experimental build DOES NOT carry over to your live game!!!
  
• When you start playing experimental, we will now copy your live progress into experimental for you. You can try your actual progress in the new update right away (remember that you are playing in a separate environment so it will not affect your progress on live by any means).
  
• What WILL be copied:
• Adventure mode progress,
  
• All editor scenarios and tools,
  
• Non-protected workshop scenarios and all the blueprints you have uploaded to the workshop
  
• All your purchased blueprints
  
• All your local blueprints
  
• What WILL NOT be copied:
• Sharegames
  
• Rented servers (if you want any of those maps on experimental, you will need to turn them into singleplayer maps before you start experimental for the first time)
  
• Any workshop assets with global user data (leaderboards, game sets, etc)
  
• Do not copy any local files! Any TAMPERING with local data can lead to irreversible loss of progress!!!
  
• Not all features that will be released in the full release are necessarily available in the Experimental build. It is possible that some features available in the Experimental build might be changed, balanced, or removed before the full release.
  
• Please delete the content of the folder:
• C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\Bohemia Interactive\Ylands\Crashes
  
• If you forgot to delete the content of the folder and the game starts as a new game contact us for help.
  

...with that out of the way...onto the good stuff!



[h3]HIGHLIGHTS
[/h3]
New Experimental!

Brand new way of playing the experimental build, now your live progress is copied to experimental so you can try the new changes with your own character and with your own progress! You can also try out your Editor tools and scenarios and see if they work, please keep us informed!

Tech Tree

Progress through core and most optional recipes is now based on a Tech Tree, allowing for more a controlled and fun system of unlocking crafting recipes.

Handbook rewards

New rewards for handbook tasks and story (bear in mind some of them are placeholders in experimental). Some rewards can be obtained only through the handbook and nowhere else, so remember to claim them!

Compass overhaul

Compass is now always visible and has an all-new visual for increased contrast. We also added the detection of cave entrances.

Proximity chat

Players are now able to communicate via a built-in proximity voice chat in multiplayer sessions.

Inventory context button improvements

We felt the item detail window was too hidden, so we displayed it more prominently (replaced the "Used In" button). Used In was moved to the item detail window, along with several new functions (Link to the crafting recipe, ability to craft more of the same item, etc.)

Alchemy changed to crafting

The alchemy table now works as any other workstation (potions are researched in the tech tree as most of the other recipes).

Region map is now single-player by default

Do you often run out of space in the region map? Now all your maps are single-player by default. Servers are always accessible by a separate game list in the region map. This should double the space for your ylands!

Avatar frames

Now you can change the borders of your avatar's face. You can gain some as a reward or buy some in the shop. Frames are visible to all your friends.

Biotop polishing

Flora and fauna are now region-specific. We also changed the visual (both terrain and new entities) of every region. There are now some new animals like hens, and many new plants, rocks, and trees.

Random encounters

Random encounters are now region-specific (except for vendors). Vendor encounters were rebalanced and their compositions were updated. Optional recipes were separated into smaller pools to reflect progress in the Tech Tree. We also added a new method for the optional recipe and exploration point acquisition (Interactive entities hidden in Random encounters).

Quality of life improvements

List of valid entities for inventory containers extended (or changed). Tutorial rebalanced for new changes. Items automatically removed from containers no longer drop on the ground
Destroyed entities from REs no longer drop resources. Hardened items no longer fall to the ground when terrain is modified below them. Stumps can be removed using a pick tool. Empty categories in the Crafting menu are hidden until you learn their contents.

Sailing speed rebalance

Boats were rebalanced to be slower than most ships. Ship speeds were rebalanced for a more linear progression. The angle of optimal wind was increased and the negative effect of sailing against the wind decreased. The power of sails and engines is applied by an exponential curve - less power is required to reach a reasonable speed.

Gamepad PC alpha version

Early access to the implementation of Gamepad controls for you to try out. Bear in mind that some UI windows are still in progress and you will not be able to use the gamepad in them properly. But especially in combat or general gameplay, we would like to know how gamepad controls work for you. Also please try our new aim assist using the gamepad. Full gamepad implementation will happen during next year.

Aim assist

Players using a gamepad or playing on mobile are now being assisted with aiming.

Secondary Interaction bound to E key

We moved some radial menu actions to a separate hotkey.

Feedback improvement

You can send feedback messages with save files attached.

Indicators for saving and bad connection

Whenever the game autosaves, an indicator flashes in the bottom right corner. Should you experience issues with an internet connection, the game will display that as well. Also, losing progress when your internet connection is poor should be mitigated to a minimum.

EDITOR: Custom tools folders

Organize Toolbox neatly into virtual folders.

EDITOR: Debug stepping alpha version

Introducing an alpha version of a powerful debugging tool for Custom Games containing complicated Visual Script. Add breakpoints to Visual Script tiles, test the game in the Debug mode, and walk through the script step by step. This feature is hidden by default but can be enabled by /enabledebugging 1.

Critical Blocking Issues:

• tech tree does not work properly in multiplayer
  
• handbook rewards can disappear in multiplayer
  
  
• Please note that not all texts are translated at the moment and some old texts are not updated yet.
  

Ahoy, Ylanders!

Embark with us on a visual journey into the realm of artistic creation as we unveil the process behind some of the mythical animals in the Ylands universe. Today, we'll delve into the minds of our talented artists: Karel, Filip, and Jakub, as they created the fantastical beings that already inhabit your Ylands experience.

Wooden Golem by Karel

"Research is key to capturing the true essence of the Wooden Golem. I drew inspiration from my favorite Lord of the Rings movie, blending majestic and dangerous Ents with dumb and heavy Trolls. The challenge was to strike a balance between enchanting and mysterious, ensuring these creatures seamlessly meld into the forest landscapes our players will explore."



Stormfeathered Banty by Filip

"Creating the Stormfeathered Banty was a challenge. I immersed myself in the world of flying beasts, drawing inspiration from our animator Matej and his pet hen, as well as the old Mayan kingdom. It's fascinating how ordinary animals and tribal art can breathe life into these mythical creatures."




Emerald Scaleneck and White Burroworill by Jakub

"When thinking of Emerald Scaleneck and White Burroworill, I drew my inspiration from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail (easter egg) and the TV series Dinosaurs. Incorporating these comical ideas into these mythical creatures added an otherworldly dimension. It's amazing how a blend of fantasy world, funny animals, and artistic interpretation can create creatures that feel both cute and captivating."




A heartfelt thank you to Karel, Filip, and Jakub for offering us a glimpse into the creative process that births these mythical creatures! For a deeper dive into our artistic endeavors, don't forget to explore our art developer diary in the future. Share your thoughts on these extraordinary creations, and until our next artistic revelation...


Stay Classy!

[h2]Ahoy Ylanders! [/h2]

Welcome to Dev Diary number 300! The Ylands team is a cheerful bunch and we love any opportunity to celebrate and we wanted to invite you to celebrate the release of 300 Dev Diaries with us!

First of all, let us thank you because without you, Ylanders, there would be no need for Dev Diaries. Thank you for being here and for being awesome! 

When Ylands was still a baby, Aleš and the team released sneak peeks every now and then, but eventually, they started releasing Dev Diaries. If you don't want to go looking for the very first one, we've dug through the archives and pulled up the link for you here: https://ylands.com/community/topic/285-dev-diary-1/



We've come a long way since then, which we touched upon a bit in Dev Diary #200. So it is only fitting that we look at what's happened since number 200!

[hr][/hr]

Update 1.9: Ocean Odysseys took a deep dive, literally, into the ocean. Sharks made a big comeback after learning their place (which of course is not in the skies above but in the waters below), many new fish made Ylands their home and the underwater world became a much more exciting, but also dangerous place. To sail such dangerous seas, we added an entire arsenal of ship devices that help navigate the unpredictable waters, where ships might get damaged and even sink!

Ymproved Ylands, aka Update 1.10, brought oh so much new stuff!

• The FPS camera was brought back
  
• Mythical Animals appeared in the game
  
• Blueprints got better
  
• Mounted actions became a thing.
  

Probably the most important improvement of this update was the beginning of a larger scale Adventure balancing for the best possible gaming experience.

To continue the improvement of already existing features, Update 1.11: Crafty Crafts focused on crafting and Blueprints. The entire crafting menu got a much needed overhaul and Ylands creators could upload their Blueprints to the market so that as many players as possible can enjoy them! Many other pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place with a new gifting system, randomized loot, new monsters and many more tweaks and fixes.

[hr][/hr]

And finally, the Classy Adventurers Guild opened its doors to adventurers young and old and welcomed them in Ylands Update 2.0! C.A.G. has brought one of the most important features into the game: Adventurer's Handbook and with it the very first mission: find Horation Reginald Elmwood, the adventurer extraordinaire! Handbook was such a big deal that even on its own, it would have been huge. But we know that you wanted more and we delivered! Ylands introduced sailing with wind, improved terrain generation, new main menu, better tutorial, new random encounters and soooooo much more.

Ylands also changed its visual identity, not significantly, but enough to be recognizable, unique and truly ours. Since this Dev Diary is written by the marketing department (remember when we told you that each Diary will be written by a different department to give you more of an inside look? ) we can only say how extremely proud we are of our entire team for making 2.0 happen and to give us something incredible that we are so excited to show the world every day. But we didn't stop there, of course!

In Update 2.1: Sunken Sands, inventory sorting was implemented and made all of our lives much easier and organized. If you're not the social type or simply enjoy playing Ylands in Singleplayer mode, pausing the game was likely a very welcomed upgrade to the experience. And you got your second big mission from C.A.G., this time in the Arid region! And as always, there were many more quality of life improvements and additions to the game. Which ones were your favorite? 

[hr][/hr]

So what's up ahead? We've already told you about the upcoming tremendous techtree that will make its debut in 2.2 and we really think that... wait a minute. Tremendous Techtree. Tremendous Techtree? Tremendous Techtree! Let's call it that! So in Update 2.2: Tremendous Techtree you can look forward to just that - an amazing feature, which will surely be helpful for any and all C.A.G. members! What else? You're gonna have to wait for that a tiny bit longer, but worry not, that info is just around the corner and we aim to reward you for your patience.

Once again, we are very grateful for your support and love that you show us everyday. Thank you and as always...



[h3]This is Ylands![/h3]

Oh... and Stay Classy of course! 

[h2]A ho ho hoy Ylanders![/h2]

A cup of hot chocolate next to you, a fluffy blanket around your shoulders, a soothing crackling fireplace in front of you and then... *SPLAT* a snowball hits you in the face! Well, not you, but your Ylands character!

Welcome to YLANDS WINTER FEST!



We hope that you are ready to spend this winter in the world of Ylands, exploring the lands and searching for 6 new Christmas themed animals and 10 different kinds of collectible toys, completing 3 new achievements, and throwing snowballs left and right!

So what have we prepared for you in this time-limited winter event?

[hr][/hr]

[h2]New Christmas Animals[/h2]

Six kinds of our animals have put on Christmas bling and can now be seen roaming around their respective regions. These can be tamed using a special Christmas bait which is found as a reward in random encounters. If you want to befriend these special animals and keep them even after the event ends, hurry up and go tame them now!



[h2]Toy Collectibles[/h2]

Christmas came early and there are many wonderful gifts hidden within random encounters! Can you collect all 10 kinds of toys and earn a special new achievement? You will of course get to keep all the toys you collect even after the Winter Fest event is over. And then you can spread the joy and give them as gifts to your friends in the game!



[h2]Snowball fights[/h2]

Who threw that snowball? Who was it? *brushes snow from face* We're just trying to peacefully explain all that's new and available during the Winter Fest and you go throwing snowballs at us?! Well, we can't really blame you, because throwing snowballs you discover in random encounters is sooooo much fun! We will even organize a snowball fight with the developers on December 21 at 5pm CET!



[h2]3 New Achievements[/h2]

Tame all 6 Christmas animals, collect all 10 kinds of Christmas toys and throw at least 30 snowballs at your friends or NPCs - that's the way to obtain these special achievements, which will be available only during the Winter Fest event. Don't forget to show them off, it's no small feat to gather all three! And if you complete all of them, run to our Discord and let us know! The first three people to do so will win a free pet!



[h2]Time-limited holiday pet[/h2]

Is Socky the Shark the cutest pet to ever come to Ylands for an exchange program? Definitely. Is the Santa's elf who went to the ocean instead of Socky struggling in the depths of the water? Who knows 😅. In any case, grab Socky from the shop before his exchange program ends!



All the new things that Winter Fest is bringing are just tools for you to shape your own holiday adventure and we love to see how you use them, so please join our Discord and let us know! Share screenshots, find friends to throw snowballs at, show off your toy collectibles and much much more!

Winter Adventure Awaits, Ylanders!

Stay Classy (and warm) this winter season!

Ahoy Ylanders!

In this dev diary, we will take a deeper dive into our programming and patch/update release workflows and we'll get a bit more technical, as our programming department shares the ins and outs of the job!

Since we just released the Winter Fest patch and Update 2.2 is on its way, it is a good time to peek behind the scenes at what it even takes for a new release of Ylands to get to you, our dear player!



Each new release contains a multitude of new features requiring new code and data. We toil on them daily, saving (or committing, as the proper lingo would go) our changes to a 'version control system' (VCS). A VCS helps us keep track of project history and lets us recover an old state on the off chance we ever mess up. Importantly, it also allows us to work on multiple versions of the project (called branches) at the same time, with work on one usually not disturbing the others. Daily changes are committed mostly to the trunk version (branch). On a busy day, there can be over a hundred changes made to the trunk.

One part of a programmer's job, on which we spend a great deal of time, is dealing with bugs. A bug is a term used for any issue with the game, whether it comes from bad code or bad data. The development of a long-term project like Ylands is fundamentally about adding or improving new features as well and as fast as possible while minimizing the number of new bugs we accidentally add.

The first line of defense against the insectoid menace is something called 'continuous integration' (CI). CI is a term for a system that automatically integrates and tests changes made to a project. It is important to say that 'integrates and tests' actually means specific things for specific projects. For Ylands it goes like this: several times a day, about every hour or so, a new build of the game is made with the new changes made since the last build (from only a couple to low tens of new changes per build). Before each build, we run set validation procedures that help us automatically check any rules that we can enforce without the need for human oversight. If validation passes, we build a new version of the game. A successful build continues to automated testing, where our in-house automated system simulates player input to run the game through a range of predefined gameplay scenarios to detect any regressions (a feature that worked but does not work anymore after a recent change). Recently, we also introduced multiplayer testing against dedicated servers.

CI, in our case automated building and testing, usually uncovers the most obvious regressions in existing systems. For anything more complex, we rely on our QA team, who know the game inside out. They test new features, to ensure they are the best they can be and also continuously check that our meddling did not break any of the existing stuff.

This process of daily development and CI continues merrily until the release of a new version draws near. We set a date of a 'datalock', usually about a month before release. A datalock comes when all new features should be good and done in the trunk branch and no new changes should really be required, besides the occasional bugfix. In theory at least. On the day of datalock, we copy the trunk version into a new 'release candidate version branch' (RC), so that it is not further disturbed by daily changes. We then proceed to test RC builds rigorously. The RC branch receives only as few changes as possible to avoid introducing any more last-minute issues.

In some cases, the RC build is made public as the Experimental Steam beta branch about two weeks before a release. We closely monitor player feedback and react to any critical issues that might be found. What is super exciting, is that starting with the 2.2 Experimental, it should be even more useful for us, as it will let players continue with their existing progress from the live version of the game (but not carry over experimental progress to live).

Finally, once the day of release is set in stone, we announce a maintenance window. On the day of the release, we flip the button, push the final build of the game live, and do a last round of checks to make sure that everything works. We celebrate, take a breather, and start the whole cycle anew.

And there you have it, Ylanders - the release cycle summarized from the point of view of our programmers.

Is there any topic from the development of Ylands that you would like to hear about? Let us know here or come chat with us on our Discord!

Stay Classy, Ylanders!