Ylands News

Hey there, Ylanders!

The latest patch is out!

We've fixed up some issues and tweaked a few things based on your feedback, so here it is:


Highlights

• Tweaked shark damage values.
  
• Diving gear resistances updated.
  
• Terrain generation fixed.
  
• Spawning to a different place after reconnection fixed.
  
• Tutorial: Cannot use crafting after reconnection fixed.
  

Fixed/Tweaked/Removed
Fixed: Exploration: Some mountains grew taller than they should be after the update.
Fixed: Player can appear at a random beach after reconnecting if they previously had ship summoned near shore.
Fixed: Weather: It is raining inside built from blueprints.
Fixed: Crafting stopped working during the tutorial after reconnection.
Fixed: When crafting items that cannot fit into full inventory, quantities of ingredients are not updated.
Fixed/Removed: Machine guns (and related recipes) that remained - unintentionally - in players' worlds. The removal was necessary to prevent balancing issues with updates 1.10 and 1.11.
Tweaked: Diving gear resistances to shark attack.
Tweaked: Damage dealt by shark.

Hey there, fellow Ylanders!

Update 1.9, Ocean Odysseys, is finally out and we're glad that you like this latest expansion of Exploration world.
We've fixed and balanced a lot of issues based on the feedback you provided after playing the Experimental game branch ("beta"). We're extremely grateful and will continue to monitor your ideas and comments so that we can further improve what we've released.

Any new update always brings a lot of questions, so we'll do our best to answer the ones you've been asking the most. If you don't find what you're looking for below, don't despair - we'll be doing a special live stream soon and you'll be able to ask us, once again, about anything.






Where can I find _______ (new resource)?
Sometimes finding a specific resource can be tricky, especial given they're sometimes to be found in the murky sea depths. This needs some exploring (hence the Exploration :) ). What can help you, though, is the description shown after selecting the resource you need.
That being said - it's possible, that some resources are harder to find than planned or not easily identifiable. That's something we're already looking into and it should be, at least partially, improved in one of the upcoming patches.

Where are the submarines?
Submarines would be cool, but they are not currently planned. That's not saying we may decide to add some faster way of propelling through the waters. If any larger vessel type makes it into Ylands in the future, you will find it way up high, not way down below :).

How does the ship damaging work?
Ships can be now damaged by either dealing direct damage to the ship, colliding with other objects, or sailing in severe weather.
The amount of collision damage depends on how fast you're sailing and which part of the ship gets hit. Weather damage does not apply when a ship is anchored, in shallow waters, or stationary during a storm.
Outside of construction mode, any entities built on the ship will redirect damage to the ship hull (with some exceptions).

Why does it snow/rain inside again?
This has already been fixed on our internal version of the game and should be released in a patch sometime next week.

I was teleported to a completely new location when I died, why?
This has already been fixed as well (at least we've been able to reproduce at least one way this could have happened). This is one of the reported issues related to respawning and those will be fixed in the next patch or the one coming after that.

Why am I forced to go explore underwater? (most recipes require underwater resources now)
This is intentional. We want to keep enhancing the underwater world and force players to explore it and don't consider it a place where you go once in a long time. We're taking more steps towards making the undersea exploration much more rewarding.
However, once again, this is something we'll be watching and analyzing in the upcoming weeks so it's possible we may decide to tweak it somehow.


We hope you're having fun underwater and will talk to you soon. Until then - stay healthy and classy!

Hey there, Ylanders!

Update 1.9 is finally here, featuring sharks and brand new underwater biotopes!




As its name suggests, Ocean Odysseys introduces a brand new underwater world to Ylands, featuring extra underwater terrain to explore, new underwater biotopes, and the return of sharks, along with other fish.

There’s also an improved multiplayer mode, new devices to aid navigation, damageable ships, and a loot container. We’re not exaggerating when we say that update 1.9 renews, expands, and improves upon the overall Ylands experience in a major way.

A quick overview of what's happening in 1.9:

Sharks. Better stay in your boat!
Underwater biotopes full of life and surprises
Ships can suffer damage and even sink
Useful new ship devices
Friends' locations are displayed on the map



Sharks
YES! Sharks are back and they’re more dangerous than ever - though you still have a chance to escape them. There are multiple underwater predators, waiting to pounce on unprepared explorers.




Underwater biotopes
Craft diving gear and explore underwater life. You can visit 9 new biotope types, gather new resources, discover new random encounters, and admire and catch fish from fish shoals.



Fish shoals
There are 18 kinds of fish shoals for you to admire during the long deep dive. You can even catch fish to get food or rare resources.


Underwater environment lighting
Small change for sure, but a welcome one. It makes sense that you want to see where you’re swimming, right?


Oxygen management
Take a deep breath for your underwater adventure. New diving gear will come in handy at this point, as it lets you dive deeper and swim faster.


Underwater cave generation
This is just the beginning of a largescale underwater adventure. While you may only find small caves at the moment, the foundation for cave generation is now in place and will be expanded upon considerably in the future.


Ship devices
When you want to experience a proper ocean odyssey, you definitely need as much information about your surroundings as possible. So let's build new equipment for your ship that warns you before you run out of fuel, tells you how fast your ship is sailing, enables you to find deep waters with random encounters more easily, and lets you know the status of your ship’s health.




Damageable ships and boats
Now there’s another reason for you to build cannons on your ships because it’s possible to attack players with your ship on certain ylands. But be careful what you wish for because what goes around, comes around – meaning those ships can fire back at you! Keep an eye on your ship’s health, and keep the Repair hammer and resources close because you’re going to need them. Not only in case of naval battles, but ships can take damage in a collision with obstacles and even in severe weather, better put down the anchor when the large waves comes.


PvP
Let's play pirates! You’ll now find a new PvP setting in your server settings that lets you decide whether you want other players to be able to attack your properties from the sea or even engage in naval battles.


Playing with friends
Friends and clan members are able to see each other on the map by default. But if you’re a fan of hide and seek, just change the settings! We also tweaked the friends list, so it's now clear who can join in the game and who you can invite. An improved spawn system will summon you much closer to your friend's avatar. Now you can jump straight into playing with your friends without having to find each other on the huge maps!



Loot container
Dying in the game is unpleasant, that’s for sure. But it’s even worse if you die with a full inventory because collecting everything again is such a struggle. That’s why we’re adding a loot container in 1.9, which keeps everything from your inventory in one container.



There are of course many more changes, improvements, fixes, additions and tweaks. We honestly can't wait to hear what you guys have to say about this update. The best person to sum up the Ocean Odysseys is none other than the Project Lead, Aleš Ulm, himself:

“For a long time, the seas in Ylands have offered bare, empty depths with an uninteresting seabed, Update 1.9 changes that in a big way. Players will now be able to look for resources and enjoy gorgeous underwater life, both harmless and dangerous, while exploring new depths.”

Well, 1.9 is finally out, let us know what you think and most importantly...

Keep Exploring!

And even more importantly...

Stay classy!

Hey there, Ylanders!

If things go right, the next Dev Diary you'll read will be about the successful release of update 1.9.

Once again, it is a big one. For a long time, the seas were just dull places with not much to do. With 1.9, though, you will get various gorgeous underwater biomes with interesting Random Encounters and resources. You will craft pieces of diving equipment to reach deeper places and travel to other regions to get specific fish while avoiding deadly sharks.



All this - and all other features and fixes both big and small - are based on feedback and wishes you've provided us with. Also, many of these features were tweaked based on the specific feedback you provided by playing the Experimental build of 1.9 in the past few days. These adjustments are either already present in the 1.9 update you'll get later next week or they're being tested and will be introduced in some of the future patches.

This time many of you decided to help us with fine-tuning the update before its release, so let us thank you again. Getting your feedback is a tremendous help and that's why for 1.10 we will focus on cooperating with you even more and in earlier stages of the development process.

We hope that when you get your hands on Ocean Odysseys you will like what we've created together.

So see you underwater next week and until then... stay healthy and classy!

[h3]EDIT: With the full release of the update, the Experimental (or the "beta") is no longer available!!!
[/h3]

Hey there, Ylanders!



The time has come. Your first look at Ocean Odysseys, the 1.9 update, is here. In today's Dev Diary, we will tell you how to access it, what we know still needs fixing and even confirm some rumors that have been circulating the forums! Let's DIVE right in!


[h2]Rumors confirmed[/h2]
First thing's first. No more cryptic messages, beating around the bush or vagueness. 🦈SHARKS are back! More dangerous than ever. And also more varied - there are 5 different kinds and a sawfish too!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]












[h2]Ocean Odysseys: Experimental version ("Beta")[/h2]

In the past we have asked you to help us test updates before their actual full release. As always, we're grateful for the help and we're excited to hear your feedback. That being said, please, whenever you report anything amiss in the Experimental version, let us know that you're playing the Experimental version and not the live version of the game.

The Experimental is available for Steam players only.



[h2]How to try the Experimental? [/h2]

Step 1: Back up your saves. Find the "/userdata/" and copy the whole "298610" folder. And keep it in a safe location.
Step 2: Go to your Steam library and find Ylands. Right click the game in the side menu and select "Properties". Select "Betas" and type in ExperimentalIWillBackUpMySaves
Step 3: The Experimental version will begin updating/downloading. You may need to do this manually. After this is complete, you may begin playing. You will continue on the progress from last Experimental or will start a new game if you've never played Experimental before.

Important Note 1: We recommend starting a new game with a guest account.
Important Note 2: We are aware of several larger issues, which we're working on fixing or have already finished fixing but haven't included them in the Experimental. You may find them in the highlights section below.



[h2]Experimental Highlights[/h2]

[h3]What's new:[/h3]

• Sharks. Better stay in your boat!
  
• Underwater biotopes full of life and surprises
  
• Ships can take damage and even sink
  
• Useful new ship devices
  
• Friends' location is displayed on the map
  

[h3]Known issues:[/h3]

• Shark in the main menu doesn't have any animations
  
• There are no Mystery Ylands in the Exploration
  
• Underwater Random Encounters are not generated
  
• Water surface integrity issues
  
• Text in Playlands is not shown properly (only key codes)
  

We can't wait to hear what you think, Ylanders! And that's it for this week, but soon, we'll be back with a full release of Ocean Odysseys!

Stay classy, Ylanders!