Empires of the Undergrowth News

A localisation issue that didn't come up in testing meant we had to roll back yesterday. This has now been rectified, and so version 0.23 has been reinstated.

Other than that, all the patch notes from the 0.23 post apply. Thanks for your patience on this everyone, and thanks to the players who reported the issues they were having!

Hi all,

Due to some Mac and localisation issues that didn't come up during testing we're going to have to do an emergency rollback from 0.23 to the previous version, 0.22112. This should only be temporary but it's vital since those groups are having major issues to do with saves and language defaults.

We'll work fast to get everything sorted, re-packaged and re-uploaded. In the meantime this shouldn't affect much since there isn't any new content scheduled to come out until April 2nd - but we appreciate your patience on the matter!

Apart from 4 new levels set to roll out over the next few months (thank you to everyone who’s been helping test and balance them) the main bulk of this update is under-the-hood changes.

To deal with a persistent problem experienced by a number of laptop users, we’ve accelerated plans to upgrade the game engine by several versions. We’re always reluctant to do this since it invariably breaks lots of things, and most of the time over the past month has been spent dealing with the fallout. Once again, thank you to everyone who’s helped us iron out those wrinkles. Particular thanks to Scyobi_Empire who helped us diagnose the initial laptop issue.

There’s also a new menu for the extra levels, which will give a description of them and a preview of their minimap, as well as an estimate of how long they’ll take to complete and any reward associated with them.

• Extra levels now come with a description and minimap preview when selecting them from the menu
  
• New extra levels added to be rolled out every 6 weeks starting on April 2nd
  • Occupation - a wood ant level not unlike the campaign level New Home
    
  • Cramped - a heavily infested leafcutter level with a surface, kill all enemies!
    
  • Enemy of my Enemy - a unique game where digging is instant and done with the mouse; packs of enemies are hostile to each other. Get them to kill each other before they kill the queen!
    
  • The Culling - a black ant level with interesting enemy spawning mechanics

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• The game will no longer crash on startup when using specific Intel graphics chips
  
• Fixed an issue where non-aggressive buried enemies were heading to the queen when dug out
  
• Fixed an issue where after a freeplay save one of the enemy colonies would become un-enterable
  
• Fixed an issue where ubers were linked to the wrong freeplay setup check boxes
  
• Fixed a pathing issue on The Crucible demo map
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur at low frame rates
  
• Fixed an issue in 2.1 where night creatures could get stuck in the tunnel exit
  
• Fixed an issue where creatures on top of tunnel exits could get stuck
  
• Fixed an issue on 2.1 where first night creatures to spawn would immediately despawn (there are now more creatures at night)
  
• Night creatures in 2.1 will now be more attracted to combat
  
• Fixed an issue with an ant getting stuck in 2.2 on a specific ramp
  
• Enemy woodworm dug out at start of 3.1 are now friendly again and hence the narrator makes sense
  
• Fixed an issue where the uber mole cricket would freeze instead of doing its thump attack
  
• Creatures will no longer decelerate when they spot and item of food or an enemy (movement should look smoother when going to gather food)
  
• Minor cosmetic painting issue fixed on 3.1
  
• Fixed an issue where the scientist was not coaxing your ants out when you retreated underground in formicarium challenge 3
  
• Fixed an issue where loaded food items underground could count as enemies being in your nest (this could cause a computer ally in freeplay to never stop protecting you)
  
• Fixed an issue where the scientists finger jab would aim at dead ants
  
• Changed victory animation on 3.1 and 3.2 so they correctly come out of the tunnel exit
  
• Minor cosmetic fixes to 2.2 (water edges and painting issues)
  
• Dug out a tile that should have been in the leafcutter demo level (on top of the tunnel exit)
  
• Fixed some potential issues with bots
  
• Freeplay AI enemy colonies will now leave an enemy’s nest faster after the queen is dead
  
• Fixed an issue with freeplay AI colonies that caused them to sometimes place a marker off the map resulting in the associated ants breaking
  
• Fixed various minor issues with Freeplay AI colonies
  
• Fixed a minor issue where leafcutters could rarely teleport to a plant to climb

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.24 (up from 4.20)
  
• Minor optimisations in plant climbing
  
• Changes to how AI colonies in freeplay decide which resources to harvest from
  
• Cheating freeplay colonies can now resurrect more than one dead group at a time if they have no resources and their ants in groups are all dead
  
• Minor bot optimisations
  
• Minor tweak to the way trails work
  
• Improved checks added to food pickup meaning food should go ignored less

[h3]Known Issues on Linux[/h3]
We have become aware that some Linux users are experiencing graphical problems with this version. In our tests these have only been minor but some may be having more serious issues.

As a first step we would suggest ensuring you have the latest distribution of your particular OS (with an approved graphics driver), but if there's still no joy please let us know your distribution version and system specs, and we can put some time into properly troubleshooting the issue.

It's possible that forcing use of the Vulkan API might fix some Linux graphical problems you're having. You'll need to add the -vulkan command line argument as a launch option.

Thanks to DiloDog_ on Steam for the screenshot used in the artwork for this post!

We're likely to run this beta just overnight and get it out onto the main branch some time tomorrow, as long as no huge problems are discovered! Whilst it doesn't have much in the way of new features, v0.23 is a significant patch because we've upgraded the engine that Empires of the Undergrowth runs on (Unreal Engine 4), and we've spent a significant amount of time fixing problems that arise from that.

So, just to reiterate - no major new features since the last optional beta, but there have been plenty of changes going on under the hood. This beta is available on all platforms. It will also remove the four extra levels, with the first of them (Occupation) being due for full release on April 2nd.

If you'd like to join the beta just for the evening, the beta key is givemeextraextra. If you don't know how to join a beta, here's how to do it:

1. Find Empires of the Undergrowth in your Steam library, right-click on it and choose "Properties"
   
2. Choose the "Betas" tab
   
3. In the box titled "Enter beta access code to unlock private betas", enter givemeextraextra
4. After the "Access code correct" information appears, make sure you've chosen "Open beta" from the "Select the beta you would like to opt into" drop-down menu
   
5. Press close - the game will now update to the beta branch
   

[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]

• Fixed randomised caverns in Freeplay
  
• Fixed Chinese and Russian languages
  
• Minor tweak to the way trails work
  
• Fixed a minor issue where leafcutters could rarely teleport to a plant to climb
  
• New extra levels removed from list & scheduled for release in future - set your system clock forward a few months to unlock them all if you'd like to continue beta testing them (at your own risk)
  
• The Culling balance changes
  
  • Slightly increased food dropped from creatures in hard and insane
    
  • Slightly reduced creature spawn rate on insane
    
  • Added an extra ramp to the south
    

Thanks to LilRenn on our Discord for the screenshot used in this post!

We’ve got another few Empires of the Undergrowth critters and some size comparisons from the upcoming fire ant update to show you in this edition of the newsletter. We’ve also done an engine upgrade which has had us banging our heads against our keyboards for the past few weeks! Those of you who have been having issues on certain laptops, whilst a small number, will be pleased to know that the next update will fix this problem in a roundabout way. At the time of writing this patch (0.23) was coming towards the end of optional beta testing. See this thread for more detailed discussion of the issue.

A wood ant queen surveys her dinner from Steam user roobyRoss

We’ll also be talking about the imminent release of Slug Disco’s foray into publishing, Ecosystem! We’re not the developers of this game by Tom Johnson but are publishing it under our banner, and are of course hopping up and down on the spot in anticipation of playing the early access version after months of playing the demo.



We first spoke about Ecosystem shortly after we brought it on board as the first Slug Disco publishing-only project (we are not developing it), back in September of 2019. Tom Johnson is an accomplished developer and we were impressed with his ingenious ocean evolutionary sim based on real-world science.

We’re very pleased to announce that the game is ready to hit early access on March 16th! Please check out the launch trailer below and read on further to find out about this genuinely brilliant simulation game.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Set in an ocean world of your devising, the first task in Ecosystem is to design your marine environment using an array of terrain generation and decoration tools. Your world can look decidedly familiar at one extreme and positively alien at the other. A variety of plants, rocks and decorations can be used to enhance the look of your Ecosystem. Plants and corals have a direct effect on how your creatures will evolve – they form the basis of the food chain on which all evolving animals ultimately depend. You can unlock new plants and corals as you progress.

Ecosystem is a technical marvel and it’s been a joy to see how far the game has come. It’s a remarkably satisfying experience to know your creatures are evolving in a true sense, using neurons that learn how to apply torque at the joints to push against the water, without any preordained animation. The game will be available on Steam from Tuesday 16th March – add it to your wish lists right now, and give the demo a spin if you’re not convinced!

Now, back to our regular programming!



[h3]The Big-Headed Ant[/h3]

Another species that will be tussling with fire ants in Empire of the Undergrowth’s 4th tier is the big-headed ant (Pheidole morrisii).

Like many species, it has minor and major castes, but it also has a category of major often called “supersoldier” in scientific literature. This beast has a huge head and a wicked pair of pincers. The head powers huge bite force much like a leafcutter major, but in a much more awkwardly-proportioned form.


Pheidole morrisii about to drop the hottest album of 2021

The head is very big in comparison to the body (hence the name), so although the bite is formidable the supersoldiers do tend to be a little on the clumsy side! This is likely to translate in-game as the supersoldiers being very tough, but also having the unfortunate tendency to stumble and fall every so often simply due to the disproportionate size of their heads.

The big-headed ant joins the little black ant (Monomorium minimum, see the previous newsletter for more details about them) as another peripheral species that will appear in the fire ant levels opposing them, but they’re not the focus of the update. Unlike the peripheral species of the leafcutter update (trap-jaw and army ants), both of these species are ideal candidates for inclusion in freeplay as their own distinct colonies, as they have suitable nesting and foraging behaviours. As always with unreleased in-development things, this is subject to change.

[h3]The Cow Killer[/h3]

The cow killer, or red velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) is not an ant at all but is a kind of wingless wasp. In nature, the males fly to find mates but the females spend most of their lives looking remarkably ant-like as they busy themselves foraging. Seeing her resemblance to a queen ant but with distinct furry red patches, it’s quite easy to see how ants and wasps are closely-related in the insect kingdom – both being members of the order Hymenoptera.

She doesn’t actually kill cows, but her sting would certainly put one out of action for a while

Red velvet ants are usually non-confrontational and will avoid conflict if they can, but if threatened the sting is so potent that the species gets its common nickname of ‘cow killer’. Her exoskeleton is remarkably tough for an insect – it has been reported that entomologists have difficulty using metal pins to pierce it for display mounting!

Her stats and abilities are related to the tough exoskeleton, reluctance to fight and exceptionally painful sting. She’s likely to be very tough for her size, and to only start using the stinger at low health, perhaps also sometimes fleeing with a speed boost. Overall the cow killer is a tough and deadly addition to the swamplands of North Carolina.

[h3]The Wasp Mantidfly[/h3]

The wasp mantidfly (Climaciella brunnea) is neither a wasp nor a mantid – the wasp-like pigmentation is mimicry to fool predators, and the mantis-like arms are an excellent example of convergent evolution, where similar solutions to a problem evolve in unrelated species.

Hello there!

Voracious hunters of insects, they are more than willing to tussle with fire ants for a quick snack. They grab their prey very much like a praying mantis does – using those uncanny front arms. They then fly off to devour it in peace. Expect to see them lurking among the flora of North Carolina waiting for your colony to stray too close!



Titans – huge creatures with unique behaviours that differentiate them from the regular denizens of the undergrowth – will be coming to the game along with the fire ant update.

She's a beauty!

We detailed the first confirmed titan, the great blue skimmer (Libellula vibrans) in the previous newsletter. Check out its animations to see it in action! What is difficult to see from these stills and video is just how big this dragonfly is. In the above picture, we’ve put it next to a very familiar ant type – the Formica ereptor ant – as well as the upcoming fire ants, who the skimmer will battle. You can see just how much of an absolute unit she is.



Always my favourite part of writing these newsletters – this time round taken exclusively from our Discord‘s screenshots channel. If you haven’t already, come along and join our nature-loving community! Friendly ant enthusiasts guaranteed.

Fezes are definitely cool in this shot from PeepsPlays_YT

The Hungry Spider never forgets his top hat. As long as you have arachnophobe mode on. From syrian dugong

The hermit crabs await the arrival of their uber-powered lord from Dr. Spooks