Caves of Qud News

204.38 - 'beta' branch

• Added a new mouse cursor and an option to disable it or choose an alternate color scheme (Options > Overlay UI > Mouse cursor).
  
• Added more status effect possibilities to dilute warm static.
  
• Made all the Chavvah entities water ritualable. More changes to the Chavvah faction are in progress.
  
• We made some balance changes to the Hamsa component of [redacted].
  
  • The action cost reduction for melee weapons was reduced from 25% to 15%.
    
  • Figurines now award reputation with the factions of the creatures they depict.
    
  • Cybernetic implants now reduce the toughness of the [redacted] by an amount equal to their license cost.
    
  • Teleport-granting items now give Teleport 6 instead of Teleport 1.
    
• Added [redacted].
  
• Added "If, Then, Else" post-quest dialogue for Tammuz.
  
• Raised scorpiock's level and lowered their AV.
  
• When using the modern UI you can now zoom out past your default setting, going to "Fit" mode, then "Fullscreen".
  
• Added a "Wait Menu" keybind to the legacy key mapping.
  
• Removed the outdated "Display a background image when letterboxing" option.
  
• Improved performance when moving through liquids, particular during autoexplore.
  
• Particle simulation now has a fixed timestep.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused imaginary objects to be flammable.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused imaginary objects to vaporize if they reached vapor point.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused particles to stack up in look and targeting views.
  
• Fixed a bug with item naming popups in the console UI.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the play area to dissapear behind item interaction popups.
  
• Fixed some auto collection bugs for liquids.
  
• Fixed ability bar buttons not greying out properly.
  
• Fixed "Wait 1 Turn" option not working properly in the wait menu.
  
• Fixed a bug where prerelease inventory UI screens were appearing below the play area.
  
• Fixed a bug where autoget would pick up fancy furniture.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused village merchants to fail to spawn.
  
• Fixed a bug where each village history entry in your journal contained histories from every village.
  
• Fixed a bug with arrow keys improperly paging through modern UI controls.
  
• Fixed the sizing of popup message windows with long scrollbars.
  
• Fixed a bug where "Take all" would fail to pick up everything if you had previously dropped any of the items.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused some shale walls to become invisible.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused zones to stay in memory for too long.
  
• [modding] All XML files are now parsed based on their root element and can thus be reorganized within subdirectories and renamed to anything.
  
• [modding] Skill entries can now set the Hidden flag to remove them from the Skills menu until they has been acquired via other means.
  

204.32 - 'beta' branch

Moved the Pixel Perfect and Dock options to the Overlay UI section.
Added a new option for "Play area scale" with three choices.

• Fit - fits the whole play area on screen. May necessitate letterboxing.
  
• Cover - ensures the play area covers the screen. Minimizes letterboxing.
  
• Pixel Perfect - sizes the play area to an integer multiple of the pixel art. Maximizes sharpness.
  

Changed the default setting for the modern UI play scale from Fit to Cover.
General UI note: if the camera is zoomed in so that the whole play area doesn't fit on the screen, you may notice the UI switching to fullscreen Fit mode when you take certain actions that still have unfinished UI elements (like Interact nearby). This is done to prevent the old UI elements from becoming unreadable at the zoomed in scales. As we add continue to add modern UI elements, it'll stop happening.
Added a new option to disable the mouse-clickable zone transition arrows that appear when the map is zoomed in (Options > Overlay UI > Disable mouse-clickable zone transition border arrows).
The mouse cursor now hides itself when the mouse is stationary.
Removed the unintentional fade-in effect when tooltips appear.
The "lost" status effect now transfers between you and your [redacted]. You can no longer ask your [redacted] for directions.
Firing ranged weapons now more accurately targets flying creatures rather than the trash beneath them.
Added ability bar navigation and activation keybinds to the legacy input manager.
Fixed a bug with modern UI keybinds using modifier keys in the legacy input manager.
Fixed a bug that caused music tracks to improperly restart when entering a new zone.
Fixed a bug where having the "Enable additional overlay UI elements" on and then disabling the "Enable modern UI elements" option left the game in an unusable state.
Fixed a bug that caused Astral creatures to flicker in and out of phase while traveling on the world map
Fixed an exception with throw animations.
Fixed a rare exception in the "corrected vision" status effect.
Fixed a rare exception in the "immobilized" status effect.

The beta for our latest feature arc, the Moon Stair, is here. Big picture, this arc includes the last late-game region, a new quest in the main questline, significant updates to the new UI, all new sound effects, and many, many gameplay changes. Everything is quite functional, but -- per usual -- it is subject to change and will get additional polish over the next several weeks.

If you'd like to help us test it, right-click on Caves of Qud in Steam, select Properties, click the Betas tab, and switch to the 'beta' branch. Note: previous saves won't be compatible with this beta. Check out this thread if you want to post your feedback, or get access to a debug wish to fast-forward to the new quest.

Here are the patch notes, with the usual caveat that some small changes may be missing.

Live and drink!


[h2]NEW QUEST IN THE MAIN QUESTLINE[/h2]

• There is now a new quest after returning from the Tomb of the Eaters. Talk to Barathrum in his study to learn more.
  
• Added a new system for the creation of [redacted] in support of this quest.
  

[h2]NEW LATE-GAME REGION[/h2]

• Added the last late-game region: the Moon Stair
  
• Added new creatures: zero jell, unimax, dawning ape, n-dimensional starshell, dreamcrungle, monad, and dream wren.
  
• Added a new village-like location -- Chavvah, the Tree of Life -- with several new NPCs.
  
• Added a new side quest at Chavvah.
  
• Added psychic biomes, limited to the Moon Stair.
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Added a new Pixel Perfect mode, which forces zoom to snap to a perfect multiple of the pixel art. You can toggle it in the General options menu.
  
• Added a new Docked mode that locks the combat log, nearby items list, and minimap. You can toggle it in the General options menu.
  
• Added new UI for target pickers.
  
• Added new UI for examining things with the Look function.
  
• Added a new target reticle for some contexts.
  
• The information bar when using the look/target pickers is now at the top of the screen.
  
• The ability bar is now fully functional.
  
• Added a new UI for the Options screen.
  
• Added a new UI for the High Scores screen.
  
• Added a new UI for the Help screen.
  
• Added tooltips and highlights to attributes with bonuses during character creation.
  
• You can now look at who you're talking to from the conversation UI.
  
• Added binds for page up and page down.
  
• Removed option to show tooltips when looking. It's now always works this way when the modern UI is enabled.
  
• Tooltips shown by mouseclick now hide when keyboard or joystick buttons are pressed (please report any tooltips that do not behave this way).
  
• Added a tooltip to the window layout lock button
  
• Look now is now bound to left stick button by default in the modern input manager.
  
• After firing a ranged weapon, your target for future shots is now more reliably what you shot at instead of what you hit.
  
• Added two options for filtering the nearby items list to only takeable items and only items in the current tile (Options > Overlay UI > enable Show overlay nearby objects list). When both are enabled, the behavior approximates the legacy UI "only show contents of the current cell" option.
  
• Refactored the imposter system for visual effects. This fixes many bugs where visual effect artifacts remained on the screen improperly.
  
• Removed code and unused bits of Overlay UI that have been replaced with the Modern UI.
  

[h2]SOUNDS & MUSIC[/h2]

• We're in the process of adding all new sound effects to the game. Several hundred have already been added. More to come.
  
• Added ambient environmental sounds. For now: to Joppa, the salt marsh, and subterranean caves. More to come.
  
• Added a new toggle and volume slider for ambient sounds to the General options menu.
  
• Added a new music track in the Moon Stair.
  

[h2]NEW THINGS[/h2]

• Added new cybernetic implants: grounding shunts and social coprocessor.
  
• Added new items: palladium weave tabard, dazzle cheek, psychodyne helmet, black mote, and stasis casque.
  
• Added a new liquid: warm static.
  

[h2]GAMEPLAY CHANGES[/h2]

• We made some balance tweaks to the attributes of merchants.
  
  • Stiltground merchants are now higher level and have more Willpower.
    
  • Legendary merchants are now leveled appropriately for the difficulty tier their workshops are found in.
    
  • More kinds of merchants now have hired guards.
    
  • Adjusted the number of hired guards for several kinds of merchants.
    
• We changed how the item mod 'gigantic' works and classified some creatures as 'colossal'.
  
  • The following creatures are classified as colossal: salt kraken, star kraken, great saltback, great magma crab, Rodanis Y, chrome pyramid, and [redacted].
    
  • Colossal creatures can no longer wear non-gigantic gear.
    
  • Non-colossal creatures can no longer wear gigantic gear, with the exception of gigantic weapons, which can be wielded in twice the number of hands they normally take to wield.
    
  • Most types of items can now be gigantic.
    
  • Gigantic weapons deal additional damage and may have other effects, depending on the weapon class.
    
  • Gigantic vessels now store twice as much liquid.
    
  • Gigantic grenades have double the radius.
    
  • Gigantic gems and precious nuggets have 5x the trade value.
    
  • Gigantic energy cells have twice the energy capacity.
    
  • Swarm racks are now gigantic and no longer occupy back or arm slots.
    
• The Quantum Jitters defect is now worth 4 points.
  
• Svardym are no longer considered a sultanate faction.
  
• There is now a teleport gate in the rusted archway.
  
• You can no longer trade with creatures who are engaged in melee combat.
  
• Having an adjacent inanimate object as a target no longer counts as being engaged in melee combat.
  
• Robots with the Wings module can no longer fly while EMP'd.
  
• Set the region tier of the Six Day Stilt to 2.
  
• Krakens who have a party leader no longer wander in the characteristic kraken style.
  
• Item-based bonuses to throwing range are now functional on geomagnetic discs.
  
• Cheap credit wedges are now excluded from dynamic encounters.
  

[h2]MISCELLANEOUS[/h2]

• Autoget can now unload weapons and empty liquid containers.
  
• Campfires and torch sconces are now avoided to a much lesser degree by pathfinding.
  
• Sometimes pilgrims you encounter are now lost. You can give them directions.
  
• Teleport gates are now points of interest.
  
• All creatures with proper names who are not player companions are now considered points of interest.
  
• Artifact functionality that displays status indications in item descriptions, such as (nonfunctional) or (unpowered), no longer does so in context of tinkering item descriptions.
  

[h2]BUGFIXES[/h2]

• Fixed a bug that prevented legendary creatures from awarding extra XP in some contexts.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused legendary creatures to have too little XP for their level.
  
• Relic missile weapons with the vibro effect now get any penetration bonuses they may have applied on top of the vibro effect.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused armor categorized as Clothing to auto-equip as held in hand rather than worn.
  
• Fixed a bug in pathfinding that caused occasional mishaps, in particular inexplicable penchants for walking through fractus.
  
• Fixed a grammar error in some messages resulting from you decapitating your companion.
  
• Legendary villagers no longer sometimes erroneously have two names.
  

[h2]DEBUG & MODDING[/h2]

• When using the debug option 'Show quickstart option during character generation, pressing the keybind now only works on the first screen.
  
• Autoget is now handled with the AutoexploreObjectEvent. Set E.Want = true and E.FromAdjacent = "Autoget". Users of the AutoexploreObjectEvent should now check the AutogetOnlyMode flag. You should only return "Autoget" (or equivalent) actions when this flag is true.
  
• Moved MenuOption class from XRL.CharacterBuilds.UI to the XRL.UI.Framework namespace.
  
• Removed old character code entries (Code="ab") from Mutations.xml, Subtypes.xml, and Genotypes.xml. Also removed the properties XRL.MutationEntry.MutationCode, XRL.SubtypeEntry.Code, and XRL.GenotypeEntry.Code.
  
• The ModManager UI has an additional tag for loaded mods which have Harmony Patches.
  
• Fixed overriding color palette in Display.txt
  
• Added some helper methods to make color string templates easier: Markup.Color(color, text) and StringBuilder.AddColored(color, text)
  
• ObjectBlueprints.xml now logs errors when setting a parameter that does not exist, or if the value can not be parsed.
  

Hello folks,
Yesterday's patch will be the last Feature Friday for a while as we tighten focus on our upcoming feature arc, the Moon Stair. We're still some weeks out, but our next step will be to put up a Moon Stair beta. So be on the lookout.

Until then, link and drink.

203.54

• Mysterious gunslingers now often generate with wide-brimmed hats and woven tunics.
  
• When you put extradimensional gemstones in a rock tumbler, you now get their extradimensional smooth varieties out.
  
• Newly sentient beings with onboard power generation can now power Jacked equipment. This change won't apply to creatures that already exist in saved games.
  
• Dangerous liquids that are out of phase or that you're flying over no longer prompt you with a movement warning in autoexplore.
  
• The default option when prompted to confirm the deletion of a save is no longer Yes.
  
• The flattened remains one occasionally stumbles onto in the salt marsh is now considered interesting.
  
• A creature ceasing to fly in the same tile as a giant clam now uses the same behavior as walking into that tile.
  
• Bep no longer minds if you use the rock tumbler in the Yd Freehold.
  
• Hookahs can now be sealed. This change won't apply to hookahs that already exist in saved games.
  
• Creatures no longer attempt to equip Templar phylacteries in their primary hands.
  
• Very smart creatures no longer activate Templar phylacteries if the wraith-knight would be hostile to them.
  
• When you attempt to move into a tile with an animated door that's locked, you no longer attempt to open them.
  
• "Kin" is now recognized as a plural noun.
  
• Removed some unimplemented mutations from various creatures.
  
• The bonus item mod chance from equipping multiple copies of the Otherpearl once again stacks multiplicatively.
  
• Added a message when selecting 'replay last character' and no valid last character is present.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the mental action cost reduction from Two-headed to not get applied.
  
• Fixed a bug that made point-defense drones fail to fire at some thrown objects.
  
• Fixed some issues with the tile display of walls in villages.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused some named items to have their original item type described strangely.
  
• Fixed a bug that made it so that if fungal infections were occupying two Hand slots, each would try to also occupy a Hands slot rather than sharing one.
  
• Fixed a bug that made it so that a fungal infection occupying a Hand slot could also occupy a Hands slot that was not the one associated with the Hand slot.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused an invalid detail color to crash the game.
  
• [modding] All wall tiles have been updated to use DetailColor as their secondary color instead of BackgroundColor.