UBOAT News

Hello skippers!

We report reaching the patrol area! The long awaited version B129 is now ready to download on the unstable branch. The changes introduced by this update are quite massive and change the game in numerous ways. Some of the most standing out changes include:

• An epic campaign that takes your ship all around the world.
  
• Completely reworked officer skill system.
  
• Detailed mission summaries and mentions about your u-boat in newspapers!
  
• Numerous simulation upgrades.
  
• Prize rules and merchant ship inspections.
  
• Spoiler-less map and user interface.
  
• Improved torpedo explosions and other effects.
  
• Loading screens after entering an area were eliminated!
  

The full changelog was too long to paste into this news, so we pasted it into the B129 forum topic here:

B129 full changelog and discussion topic

If you feel brave enough to dive into the unstable testing waters, you can do so by following these steps:

1. Right click on the game in the library.
2. Enter Properties and then the BETA tab.
3. Choose "unstable" branch from the list on the right.
4. Done!

The main goal of this release is the testing and polishing of this version in collaboration with you. We expect that this will take at least a few weeks. We tested this update very thoroughly and it should be well playable, although some of the campaign missions may still need some love and balance. So remember, its unstable and there might be unexpected behaviour!

We really do appreciate the nice words you left in the forums over the last weeks and month. We await your honest feedback and will do our best to shape this update into the final state. See you on the forums!

Yours,
DWS

Farm Manager 2021 will be released on May 6 and we have prepared a special offer for you. On the day of the game's premiere, you will receive a loyalty discount that will reduce the price of Farm Manger 2021 by 20%.

If you own any of the games from the list below, you will get a 20% discount on Farm Manager 2021. The discount will be available on the Fam Manager 2021 store page from May 6 to May 13.

Please note that the loyalty discount adds up with the 10% release discount, which means you can buy Farm Manager 2021 30% off!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1123830/Farm_Manager_2021/

To receive the 20% loyalty discount, you must own one of the games listed below:

Farm Manager 2018 112 Operator 911 Operator Accident Agony Agony UNRATED Barn Finders Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 Cooking Simulator Don’t Be Afraid Drug Dealer Simulator Gold Rush: The Game House Flipper Lust for Darkness Lust from Beyond Mr. Prepper Plane Mechanic Simulator Rustler Tank Mechanic Simulator The Beast Inside The Tenants Thief Simulator Train Station Renovation UBOAT Ultimate Fishing Simulator

Dear skippers,

We are back with the last dev diary before publishing version B129. Take a look:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Transcription[/h2]
[h3]Spoilerless map & user interface[/h3]
We listened to your feedback and removed spoilers from the map and user interface. Valuable information such as a ship type or affiliation is no longer visible right away. We also removed all mentions about the encountered group type from the user interface.



[h3]Discipline rework[/h3]
We also listened to your feedback in regards of the discipline system and developed it into something better. Instead of just the discipline game now also tracks stress. While discipline now usually changes over long term, stress on the other hand is short lived and appears during the combat. When the stress gets out of control, it may cause unwanted events such as panic attacks, but as long as you maintain high discipline on the ship your crew is less affected by it.



[h3]Diesel smoke[/h3]
We added a smoke effect for the u-boat that appears when diesel engines are used. It raises visibility of your ship to the enemy, but assigning an engineer with a proper skill to the engines usually eliminates it completely.



[h3]Hydrophones dead zone[/h3]
All hydrophones now have a dead zone behind them. This mechanic may be exploited for advantage by positioning behind the enemy where he cannot detect your ship.

[h3]Torpedo improvements[/h3]
Torpedoes now have turn limits, that make it impossible to launch them at targets behind the launcher. We also ensured that torpedoes closely keep the depth set during the launch.

Lastly, torpedo explosion effects were improved for better satisfaction from the hunts.



That's all that we prepared for this video. Thank you for your attention, stay safe and see you soon!

Yours,
DWS

Dear skippers,

We are getting close to the release day of the update B129, so we decided to give a word how things stand at this point and give you a quick summary of what to expect from the update.



[h2]Release date[/h2]
We plan to publish update B129 on the unstable branch in the middle of May. At this point, we will work closely with the community to polish it before publishing it as the current stable version.

We are also going to prepare one more dev diary at April 25th before the update is released.

[h2]Team expansion[/h2]
We are happy to say that our humble team has grown a bit again. We are doing this to deliver more and better polished content for UBOAT in the future.

Last month, we joined forces with a scene designer, recruited from the UBOAT community. This time our team welcomed a new programmer and one more coder will join us later in May.

[h2]About the update[/h2]
[h3]Changes[/h3]
We hope that this update will bring improvements to the areas of the game that we thought needed them most. Please take a look at our dev diaries to find out what exactly this update means for the game:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3038210542019058907
https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3040463419627488048
https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3035961090216541509
https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3028081061116389077
https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3003312530683479554
[h3]Why large update[/h3]
The reason is that most of the large improvements introduced in B129 are deeply connected with each other.

We were preparing for this update for a long time and since we were aware that this one may take longer than usual, we used it as an opportunity to grow the team as well as experiment with the video dev diaries.

[h3]Full release[/h3]
We will still work on at least one more update (B130) to make remaining things straight and address your feedback, before we will be ready to let the UBOAT sail out of the Early Access waters. It seems that the summer is the most probable time frame for that right now.

Thank you for your continued support and helping us to develop UBOAT into the final shape!

Yours,
DWS

Dear skippers,

We prepared a fifth dev diary during the work on B129. This time we describe prize rules, merchant ship inspections, ship scuttling and new types of goods. Take a look!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Transcription[/h2]
Welcome to the fifth UBOAT dev log video for the upcoming update 129. This time we will discuss upgrades related to the enemy shipping.

[h3]Prize rules[/h3]
Since this update, neutral ships that are headed at the blockaded enemy ports now become a valid prize for your u-boat. Also, enemy merchant ships without escort may occasionally use a neutral flag as a disguise.

If you will manage to sink such less obvious targets, you will be well rewarded by the high command, but beware, because if the ship turns out to be involved in a neutral trade, your actions may lead to a humanitarian crisis or at the very least a diplomatic incident.



[h3]Inspections[/h3]
To find out if a ship is a valid target, you will be able to send your team to inspect it. Once there, your officers may talk with the captain and search the cargo hold. Keep your eyes open because if unexpected danger appears during the inspection your crew may become stranded.



It's also going to be possible to send a team to abandoned ships. Your crew can then search the compartments and if you have an skilled engineer, you can save torpedoes by sinking it with explosives.



[h3]New goods[/h3]
Lastly, since this update, enemy vessels will transport a much more varied cargo like iron ore, lumber, rubber and in rare cases even gold. The routes on which these goods will be shipped are historically accurate.



That's all that what we wanted to share in today's video. You will hear more from us next week about this update's estimated release date as well as upgrades in our team. Stay safe and see you soon!

Happy Easter!

Yours,
DWS