Empires of the Undergrowth News

We've pushed a hotfix update to Empires of the Undergrowth to fix 2 major glitches.

• Fixed an oversight with the music switch over from day to night that was crashing 2.2 Queen Of The Hill for some players
  
  This issue was missed by internal testing since it only seems to happen on certain hardware configurations and only for a small minority of players.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that was giving players 20 territory each time they returned to the formicarium
  
  An oversight in territory given to players on the upcoming 3rd tier Formicarium missions made its way into the previous build, creating an infinite territory glitch.
  
  

With the exception of a few necessary balance changes and fixes for the more recent playable builds, the team’s sole focus for the past month has been the leafcutter update. Over the past few weeks we’ve been showing off some of the progress on the creatures of Ecuadorian jungle where these levels are based. Our artist Matt has been producing amazing work to bring this sublimely rich ecosystem to life within Empires of the Undergrowth. John and Liam have been working on bringing the creatures into the game and figuring out how they interact with our leafcutters. This newsletter will therefore focus mainly on the amazing biodiversity of the rainforest setting. Without further ado, let’s get to having a look at some of these fantastic beasties!

The rainforest at night

Rove Beetles

Rove beetles are a diverse group of insects that can be found the world over - in fact, the European devil’s coach horse that’s already in the game is a kind of rove beetle. The main distinguishing feature for these beetles is the short elytra (wing coverings) that leave most of their backs exposed. Many, many species of rove beetle exist, and some of them are rainforest dwellers. They’ll come into conflict with our leafcutter ants.

Rove beetle larvae

Although leafcutters do not eat other creatures, they are fully aware that other creatures will happily eat them - and so they’ll defend themselves with the same deadly zeal that any self-respecting ant with giant slicing jaws would.

Two varieties of rove beetle adult

Spiny Devil Bush Cricket

The fearsome spiny devil bush cricket (Panacanthus varius) faces off against a leafcutter colony. Covered in defensive spines, this monster may well be guarding some of the choicest leaves for the harvest - which means it must be confronted. Bush crickets are also sometimes known as katydids.

https://youtu.be/H6ODtEzI4gs

In-game, the spiny devil's spines will mean that any creature that does damage to it will suffer some damage in return, whether or not it is actually being attacked by the cricket. It also has an area of effect bleed attack which will continue damaging the target for a time after.

The spiny devil is not idly named!

Praying Mantis

The mantids are an iconic group of insects - known for their "praying" folded forelegs and upright posture, as well as their covert hunting techniques. This particular species is a leaf-mimic praying mantis (Pseudoxyops perpulchra), specifically adapted to hide in the foliage with near-perfect leaf camouflage. In its final instar it's a voracious hunter of insects, using its natural stealth to get close to its quarry.



The leaf-mimic mantis will have a unique stealth ability reflecting its natural prowess at ambush attacks. It will not appear on the minimap - nor will its health bar be visible - until it decides to engage the player. The range at which ants can notice and attack it is also much lower than it is for more conspicuous creatures.

Army Ants

The relentless march of the army ants is legendary. These ants form large colonies, living a nomadic lifestyle. They scour the rainforest, sending out waves of workers to demolish anything in their path to feed their expanding empire. Like many species of ant, they have a distinct caste system. In these pictures we see two separate castes of Eciton burchellii - small and medium-sized workers.



Featured below is the soldier caste - analogous to the large majors that the leafcutter colonies produce. These brutes protect the flanks of the army’s trails from attack. Their large mandibles are more than capable of delivering a killing blow to any number of arthropods and a painful nip to things larger. Unless prepared for battle, it would be advisable for the denizens of the rainforest undergrowth to avoid the trails of the army ants lest they incur the wrath of their imposing protectors.



In Empires of the Undergrowth, the leafcutter colony will encounter army ants overlapping its territory. They represent a strong existential threat - unlike our leafcutters army ants readily eat meat, and the brood of a fledgling leafcutter colony would be a nutritious prize.

One Year On

As of 1st December 2018, it’s been one year since we released the early access version of Empires of the Undergrowth to you all. We’ve had incredible support, love and kindness from all of you and that makes each day we work on the project a joy. Such an ambitious project is not without its difficulties and pitfalls, particularly for such a small team, but with you guys behind us we feel we can achieve everything we’ve set out to do.

The last year has seen some big changes to not just the game, but the lives of those of us on the team. All three of the developers have been able to give up their day jobs to work exclusively on the game. Our entire lives have been restructured around it and that’s a very exciting thing.

As far as the game itself goes, we’re not too far from a huge update in the form of the leafcutter levels. We know you’re all desperate to sink your jaws into them, and we can’t wait to get them out to you. There are still some more surprises in store for this update, and we’ll be teasing a few more of them as we complete the work. Keep an eye on our social media - particularly Facebook and Twitter - for those.

So, here’s to the future! And here’s to you all, you lovely bunch. Continue being awesome.

YouTuber Highlight - Flexible Games

Flexible Games has been playing Empires of the Undergrowth diligently for several weeks now. What’s made his playthrough fun to watch for us as developers is that he’s gone into the game blind, with very little knowledge of what’s in store. Genuine reactions like this are often hard to come by, and it’s been an experience watching him get to grips with the systems. Here’s part 1 of the extensive series - he’s now completed the current campaign levels and moved on to Freeplay.

https://youtu.be/gFZMfsYr9oA

Screenshot Central

Once again it’s time to have a look through the Steam screenshot gallery for our favourite submissions of the past few weeks. As always, that’s the easiest way to get them to us (F12 by default from Steam) - but if you want you can email them directly to [email protected].

Testing the limits in Battle Arena in this snap from xw_elite06_wx

A funnel web spider claims a victim from z0mbiesrock

A simple, pleasing shot of a wood ant queen from M O T H

We've corrected some issues and resolved a final few things on our to-do list for Early Access V0.135. With any luck, this is likely to be our final patch before the upcoming major update (bar anything game-breaking). If you spot errors, please continue to report them in the forums, but as mentioned we're now cracking on full-steam ahead with the leafcutters!

• Creatures should no longer get stuck on grass
  
• Ladybirds will no longer leave after 10s unless they are stuck (they will now leave after 15s if stuck) and should be back to their usual aphid eating antics
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause creatures to get stuck trying to use an ability
  
• Fixed an issue where some high priority narrations could play after victory and defeat
  
• Fixed an issue on Battle Arena and Hungry Spider where the UI would be the standard one for a split second before switching to the correct one
  
• Fixed an issue where if you tried to upgrade a tile without purchasing the upgrade, then purchased the upgrade and tried again it would tell you you had not purchased the upgrade
  
• Fixed a typo on Queen of the Hill notification
  
• Fixed the spider’s slow in Hungry Spider
  
• Fixed an issue where if an ant was saved with a status effect active on it (such as poison) all future ants born from its tile would have that effect
  

• Attack tolerance reduced for all medium and large creatures, meaning they can no longer remain attacking once you have travelled away from them
  
• Small changes to movement behaviour on ramps
  
• Minor performance improvements with slows
  
• Movement speed changes have been unified into one system
  
• Navmesh changes should lead to more sensible creature movement around objects
  
• Freeplay ambience sounds now working
  
• Freeplay music now switches between day and night
  
• Freeplay map Towhead now uses the music tracks from Queen of the Hill
  
• Hungry Spider level full moon availability extended to 4 days from midnight the day the full moon will happen (up from 2)
  
• Added in narration that was missing from 2.2 (final morning announcement)
  
• Armour can now only reduce damage to 0.5 and no lower
  
• Reduced the armour on the Uber Beach Tiger Beetle to 2 (down from 3)
  
• Reduced the range of Uber’s basic attack to 200 (down from 300)
  

Winter is... approaching. Since the last newsletter we’ve released what we’ve called the “interim update”, version 0.13 - interim meaning between Freeplay and the upcoming major update. That update introduced the planned challenge modes to the 2nd tier Formicarium levels, added a new level to Freeplay, addressed several issues, and included a spooky spider-based extra that you guys seemed to have a lot of fun with. In the meantime, the guys have also been working solidly on the next set of levels for the game, which of course will feature leafcutter ants. Let’s dive in and see how we’ve been doing!



https://youtu.be/xHjECOl1TJU

Our intent when releasing the Interim Update was to fill in some clearly missing gaps in the game as it stands, consolidate the game systems for future updates (and deal with issues arising from those system changes sooner rather than later), as well as giving you guys some fun extra stuff to do in the meantime. We also re-designed the main menu for clarity, going back to a more traditional system.



The 2nd tier Formicarium levels (2.1 Rising Tide, and 2.2 Queen of the Hill) have gained their own challenge mode. In the 1st tier levels, activating challenge mode introduced a new creature to the fray (the mole cricket). In keeping with that spirit, the 2nd tier introduces the beach tiger beetle larvae - the juvenile form of the tiger beetles that are found in these levels. They live in small burrows in the sand, hiding away for safety but listening for the vibrations of a suitable meal. They will snatch ants away one at a time, then quickly kill them - and it is in that brief moment alone that they are vulnerable.

All about the beach tiger beetle larvae

We’ve particularly enjoyed seeing some of our more seasoned players reacting to the difference the presence these critters makes to the level experience - on higher difficulties, the number of larvae that spawn can be huge! As always, there’s a way to overcome these difficult odds with skill and experience.



Towhead is a brand new Freeplay level. It’s set on a small island or sandbank near the mouth of a river, and has some features that make it an entirely different experience to The Dunes (our first Freeplay map). Firstly, it’s a lot smaller which makes the experience of jostling for resources significantly more intense. It also has a unique element - a periodic flood, which will purge the lower level of the map of all creatures. This is an optional addition to the map, but if activated it adds an extra thought and planning element to your food collection.

Towhead in all its glory

The release of Towhead also saw some necessary balance changes to Freeplay in general. After listening to some feedback by players, we’ve changed it so that at lower difficulty early game time, only lower-level creatures will spawn. This change happened in patch 0.133 - click here to read the full notes from that patch.



The Minor Improvements System has been added as a way to spend spare Royal Jelly. Some players have been sitting on a cache of jelly with no way to spend it, and some players find themselves with some left over after they’ve purchased their desired upgrades. The MIS allows players to spend initially small amounts of jelly to make improvements to their ant’s stats. The amount of jelly this costs will increase exponentially after multiple purchases, so there is a practical limit to how much a colony’s ants can be upgraded.

The Minor Improvements System in action

To access this new system, open up the Royal Jelly Tech Tree Menu from the top-left of the Formicarium hub. Select the icon of the kind of ant that you’d like to improve, and choose the jelly icon that pops up.

Please don’t feel that you need to grind for Royal Jelly to use this feature; it really isn’t intended to be used that way (hence the increasing cost for additional improvements)! It’s more a way of spending left over jelly efficiently before you progress to the next Formicarium tier.




We’ve recently done our recording sessions for the third Formicarium tier levels with our three voice actors. It all went swimmingly, but while we were at it we asked them to record some extra bits and pieces that we felt were missing from the existing game content. This is most apparent in Freeplay, where the narrator now introduces your fledgling colony to its world when the game starts.

Scientist #2 will also give some vocal indication when he drops food on the Formicarium surface during the gateway missions, and we’ve re-recorded Scientist #1’s voice lines entirely with better recording equipment. Whilst doing that, just about all the game’s audio has gone through improved filtering for consistency and clarity.




In preparation for the aforementioned major update, the code that governs the movement of ants about the nest and above ground has undergone an extensive re-write. Leafcutter ants, which will feature in the major update to come have a complex, multi-caste society and getting them moving efficiently around their environment has necessitated the creation of several new systems for movement and swarming. These are now also driving ant movement in the current build of the game - but you shouldn’t notice a huge difference right now. We’re laying the groundwork for the future with these changes.

Swarming ants



It was a pleasure to be able to have a little surprise ready for you all in time for Halloween! We’re delighted with how well the Hungry Spider level was received. For those who didn’t catch it, a cobweb appeared on the main menu, which when clicked would take you to a special level where you play as a ravenous wolf spider, with your aim to consume everything in your path. It’s a devilishly difficult level, with not many managing to complete it.

https://youtu.be/L3QtFadJryI

Some members of our community have written fantastic guides on how to tackle this fiendish level, which was unexpected and awesome. If you didn’t get a chance to play, don’t worry - the cobweb will return whenever there’s a full moon!

It was great for me (community manager - Mike) to get a cameo in the game as the voice of the hungry spider!)



Whilst all this has been going on with the interim update, of course the guys have been hard at work with the third tier Formicarium levels. In the last newsletter we showed you all about the different castes that leafcutter ant society has, but this time we'd like to focus on their environment. As previously mentioned they will feature leafcutter ants, and are set in the subtropical rainforests of Ecuador. Our artist Matt has been hard at work producing some beautiful landscapes for our leafcutters to inhabit.

One of the beautiful Ecuador maps in all its glory

The above screenshot is from level 3.2 - we’re keeping the level names to ourselves for now, but you can see the detail that Matt has included to make these levels entirely unique to the beach environment that is featured in 2.1 and 2.2

Isn't it kind of cheating to use this?


As for the question of when we expect the leafcutter update to be ready, we have to be careful - history has repeatedly told us that we’re not very good at judging release dates, but we’re in pretty good company in that regard - even the really big studios have trouble pinning it down. Rest assured, Major Update 1 (as it’s described in our internal plan) is in good hands, and we appreciate the kind patience of you lovely bunch.



Leafcutters share their rainforest home with many other impressive animals. Trap jaw ants are one of their many foes, boasting the fastest-moving predatory appendage in the animal kingdom. Their jaws are so fast that they can close within microseconds, maiming their targets, or even using them to catapult foes or themselves away.







The leafcutters will encounter these ants in their various trials, and they're fearsome opponents.



DGA is a long-time follower of Empires of the Undergrowth and we always enjoy watching his relaxed, considered gameplay. He was one of the first to put up a play of the Hungry Spider level on YouTube, and although he may have been a little surprised at how hard the enemy wolf spiders bite, he came back for more anyway!

https://youtu.be/F_GkckRsumw



Let’s introduce a little competitive element to Freeplay. The current highest-documented Freeplay score belongs to JaXm at 6,360,777, and he posted the screenshot on 31st July 2018 to prove it. Can you do better? Upload your screenshot to Steam or post it on our forums to let us know if you’ve unseated the current champion!





In making these newsletters, it’s always a cleansing experience to have a gander at the screenshots you lovely people have been uploading - because when captured at the right time, Empires of the Undergrowth can be a very pretty game. If you’d like to participate, submit your screenshots to Steam (F12 by default) or email them to [email protected] !

A boquet of beetles by Martino

How could we pass up Limey21 with a total mastery of golden hour screenshots?

We couldn't ignore the beautiful layout of Enablin's base - look at the minimap to see what we mean!

Happy Halloween! That and a few more changes to 0.13 make it the perfect time to try out the Hungry Spider level (click the cobweb on the main menu - before it disappears!). We've also made a few other changes. Notes below!

• Added warning text above the play button in level setup telling the player what they must click on to allow them to press the play button
  
• Fixed an issue where root aphids would be spawned at 0,0,0 (causing ladybirds to fly to a very strange location in top left of Towhead)
  

• Some balance changes have been added to Freeplay. This should allow players struggling to start a colony to get off the ground before harder creatures are about. For example setting the starting difficulty to zero will give player 15 minutes where only devil's coach horse larvae, wood worms and woodlice will spawn making the surface a lot more manageable.
  
• Medium creatures will no longer spawn below 20% difficulty in Freeplay until 15 minutes have passed
  
• Large creatures will no longer spawn below 40% difficulty in Freeplay until 30 minutes have passed
  
• Removed the word none from freeplay scoreboard
  
• The underground spider in Towhead has been replaced by a devil’s coach horse adult
  
• Fixed and issue in Freeplay not displaying the green outline of tunnels to surface before dug out
  
• Renamed map option in Towhead to Flood
  
• Fixed an issue that would flood Towhead immediately at the beginning of every play (removing all food including fish from the lower level)
  
• Fixed death sequences on Towhead (and the ghostly queen)
  

• Slightly increased the spider's attack and Venom Strike speed
  
• Fixed an issue that would cause the keyboard controls to stop working when trying to use an ability that is on cooldown
  
• Fixed an issue with the spider's projectile causing some particles to fly off to the bottom right
  
• Fixed a spelling mistake on the hungry spiders bite ability