dotAGE News

Hello Elders!

I just pushed a new patch that, among various bugfixes and several QoL changes (go eat those pigs!), also adds the new Overpipulation mechanic to the game. As explained beforehand, this mechanic will make large amount of Pips less optimal to have, as it will start generating more Danger the more Pips you have!
Do not worry, as large villages are still possible, but this balances out having too many Pips being an easy choice, pushing you to try to find other solutions. Remember that advanced buildings and Bourgeoise are more Pip-efficient!



Have fun
- Michele

V 1.0.0.023

Features

• Added new Overpipulation mechanic. This will trigger on your next game when you reach 50+ Pips, with a new memory and hint. The mechanics adds diminishing returns to increasing Pips over a certain threshold in the form of increased Danger generation for the four Domains (Cold excluded).
  
• Added News section in the title screen
  

Balance

• You can now lure creatures even if a child creature is growing inside the dwelling
  

UX

• SUPER Pass Turn now will not wait for research instances to pop
  
• Difficulty warning is now a bit more clear to stop high skilled players from thinking normal difficulty is for them
  
• Added Discord link. Social buttons now appear in the pause screen too.
  
• Butchers, Fishers, and Hunters will now prioritize non-empty tiles
  
• When luring a creature, the closest one will now be preferred
  

Bugfixes

• Fixed events sometimes showing the previous event's tooltip on their effect, resulting in frankly hilarious combinations
  
• Fixed an error log spam on the first turn post load
  
• Fixed bug with Captain showing a Signpost in the research tree
  
• Fixed changelog's last line not being visible
  
• Fixed animals returning to their pens when hovering on them
  
• Fixed events sometimes breaking resulting in them remaining in the prophecy
  
• Added various code optimizations
  
• Minor localization fixes
  

Hello Elders!

The latest bugfixes are now on the main branch after having been tested on the experimental branch, please let me know if you find any new issue! You will also find a changelog in the main menu now, so you can check from inside the game what the news are.

I also added a new column to the food interface, allowing you to independently select whether animals or Pips should not consume a specific food.


Have fun
- Michele

V 1.0.0.022

UX

• Added Changelog to the main menu
  
• You can now independently disable food for Pips or Animals
  
• You can now skip the end credits by pressing Escape. A sad voice will be heard when you do so, to make you feel bad about it.
  
• Abandoned effect now has more flies to make it more visible
  
• The research bar is now available from the first turn after you discover its memory (yes, this is just a first step towards allowing you to see it before placing the Bivouac)
  

Balance

• Outer tiles cannot be selected anymore by events (this caused all kinds of wrong behaviour)
  
• Thawing will now remove Snow instead of transforming the tile into Grass
  

Bugfixes

• Fixed winning with Randolph not unlocking the achievement correctly
  
• Fixed profile picture appearing upside down in highscores
  
• Fixed trainees becoming Bourgeoise resulting in them keeping the old commoner job, while still becoming Bourgeoise. Other Bourgeois Pips would also look down on them due to their humble roots.
  
• Fixed some combination of actions resulting in abandoned buildings that, paired with Pips performing cures, would soft lock the game. This is fixed by moving all similar checks to the end of the turn.
  
• Fixed tasks handling bonus resources erroneously, resulting in double costs, or double gains
  
• Fixed Buoy not loading correctly for Captain anymore
  
• Fixed memory unlock percentage being off due to hidden memories
  
• Fixed bug in Relax mode that made the day be wrong on load, until you passed the turn
  
• Fixed cat not meowing when selected
  
• Fixed boons adding a wrong message in the log
  
• Fixed last game weird boons and techs remaining on a new game, until you reload
  
• Fixed a rare null reference on load
  
• Fixed bug with having zero food selected disabling the food selection UI on load
  
• Fixed tutorial getting stuck if you tried building without first opening the Agepedia
  

System

• Various end-game optimizations
  
• Localization update
  

Hello Elders!

I am not sure what happened last night, but some Pips started behaving weirdly! Did any of you feed them something you shouldn't have? Oh well! While we wait for them to drop the funny hats, make sure to show your creepiest scenes to the community!



In the meantime, I have fixed a set of pesky bugs (and I am still fixing them, keep them coming!), I want to thank everybody who has reported one, as you have been very helpful in finding the root cause!
I am now testing a lot of fixes in the new Experimental branch, and if everything is fine I will upload it on the main branch tomorrow. Check the changelog below to see what is fixed there!

Also, if you want to try the experimental branch, there is a new memory and building waiting for you... it will come to the main game once we have tested it a bit, but if you try it, do tell me what you think of it!



Have fun
- Michele

V 1.0.1.0 EXPERIMENTAL
Features

• Added new Overpipulation mechanic. This will trigger on your next game when you reach 50+ Pips, with a new memory and hint. The mechanics adds diminishing returns to increasing Pips over a certain threshold in the form of increased Danger generation for the four Domains (Cold excluded).
  
• Added new Doomsday mechanic. This allows snowballing runs to end sooner.
  

V 1.0.0.022
UX

• Added Changelog to the main menu
  
• You can now skip the end credits by pressing Escape. A sad voice will be heard when you do so, to make you feel bad about it.
  

System

• Various end-game optimizations
  

Balance

• Outer tiles cannot be selected anymore by events (this caused all kinds of wrong behaviour)
  
• Thawing will now remove Snow instead of transforming the tile into Grass
  

Bugfixes

• Fixed winning with Randolph not unlocking the achievement correctly
  
• Fixed profile picture appearing upside down in highscores
  
• Fixed trainees becoming Bourgeoise resulting in them keeping the old commoner job, while still becoming Bourgeoise. Other Bourgeois Pips would also look down on them due to their humble roots.
  
• Fixed some combination of actions resulting in abandoned buildings that, paired with Pips performing cures, would soft lock the game. This is fixed by moving all similar checks to the end of the turn.
  
• Fixed tasks handling bonus resources erroneously, resulting in double costs, or double gains
  
• Fixed Buoy not loading correctly for Captain anymore
  
• Fixed memory unlock percentage being off due to hidden memories
  
• Fixed bug in Relax mode that made the day be wrong on load, until you passed the turn
  
• Fixed cat not meowing when selected
  
• Fixed boons adding a wrong message in the log
  
• Fixed last game weird boons and techs remaining on a new game, until you reload
  
• Fixed a rare nullreference on load
  

Hello Elder!

Just a small update to signal that 0.0021 is now on the main branch, so enjoy your better starts, and the cool new colors for Highly Fertile terrains! (Just as a heads up, it will say "experimental" in the title screen, but that is untrue, ignore that for now)



Hope this solves the peskier bugs, but do let me know if it does not!

Also, do not worry if you see a new locked tech below Theater... I am working on finding out what that is!

Have fun
- Michele

V 1.0.0.0021

Balance

• Starting food generation now takes into account the starting reachable area, making sure you get a minimum amount of food inside it (not for the Captain)
  
• Reduced maximum Mastery Level from 20 to 10 (I'm trying to find a humanly reachable value)
  

UX

• Added Seasonal tile colors for Highly Fertile terrains
  
• Super Fast Mode will now also skip Elder visions (this will make it harder to see them appearing, of course)
  

Bugfixes

• Fixed Mastery Level hint when you complete your first Hard or Harder game not appearing anymore
  
• Fixed actions not being cleared correctly when a building becomes abandoned
  
• Fixed rare bug where some patterns could cause a Healer to get stuck on load due to its building being abandoned
  
• Fixed map generation sometimes not generating enough reachable Mountain tiles
  
• Fixed multiple workers being able to be assigned at some buildings that allowed only one to be assigned.
  
• Fixed a rare bug with season change blocking the game in some maps
  
• Fixed challenge mode UI acting weirdly if you change elder (note that if you saw 1/0 it means you did not unlock it for that Elder yet, it was an error)
  
• Fixed a few localization errors
  

System

• Minor performance optimizations
  
• Added unique game versioning to handle further addition of mechanics
  

Have fun!
- Michele

Hello Elder!

Hope you are having fun with the game! This has been a very busy week for me, with all that is happening inside and outside the game. While I sort everything out, I am happy to be able to dedicate some time to the game!

[h2]What is the plan?[/h2]
For now, the plan is to make some small changes to make the experience better, and then I'll start working on Controller Support and to get the game Steam Deck Verified. I am reading all the suggestions and I saw some pretty cool ones, but keep in mind that time is a scarce resource (just as Pip turns), so I need to prioritize.
Here is what I am focusing on at the moment (apart from bugfixes and small changes)!

[h2]The Doomsday[/h2]
As you may have seen from an earlier update this week, I am working on a new mechanic that is designed to make the game shorter, *if* you are playing good. t will first appear in the experimental branch and we will test it there a bit!

[h2]Overcrowding[/h2]
I see that many of you are making... way too many Pips! That was not intended, as I underestimated your willingness to handle the complexity of having 100+ or even 200+ Pips at once. I am working on a mechanic that will make it less optimal to make so many Pips, and that one will too appear in the experimental branch.

[h2]Soft locks?[/h2]
If you encountered some bug that does not let you pass the turn, know that the experimental branch now has more fixes tied to them (they are increasingly rare, so it should not happen for the most part!). If you still encounter one, do send it to me!

[h2]Balance?[/h2]
I know that some buildings and resources need a lift, I am collecting feedback and will act on it, but this will take some time since the balance can be really delicate!

[h2]Content creators![/h2]
I have a small warning to make if you are a content creator: it has been brought to my attention that some content creator are receiving copyright claims tied to the music of dotAGE. If this happens to you with new content, or old content, please dispute the claim as being fair use and it will be lifted basically immediately. If you have any issue, do send the link to your content to me and I'll shove it into their support mail to get it fixed! I am working with them to get this changed altogether.



Here is the changelog for the current Experimental branch

V 1.0.0.0021 EXPERIMENTAL

Balance

• Starting food generation now takes into account the starting reachable area, making sure you get a minimum amount of food inside it (not for the Captain)
  
• Reduced maximum Mastery Level from 20 to 10 (I'm trying to find a humanly reachable value)
  

UX

• Added Seasonal tile colors for Highly Fertile terrains
  
• Super Fast Mode will now also skip Elder visions (this will make it harder to see them appearing, of course)
  

Bugfixes

• Fixed Mastery Level hint when you complete your first Hard or Harder game not appearing anymore
  
• Fixed actions not being cleared correctly when a building becomes abandoned
  
• Fixed rare bug where some patterns could cause a Healer to get stuck on load due to its building being abandoned
  
• Fixed map generation sometimes not generating enough reachable Mountain tiles
  
• Fixed multiple workers being able to be assigned at some buildings that allowed only one to be assigned.
  
• Fixed a rare bug with season change blocking the game in some maps
  
• Fixed challenge mode UI acting weirdly if you change elder (note that if you saw 1/0 it means you did not unlock it for that Elder yet, it was an error)
  
• Fixed a few localization errors
  

System

• Minor performance optimizations
  
• Added unique game versioning to handle further addition of mechanics
  

Have fun!
- Michele