Flotsam News

Hey Drifters,
Controller Support is finally here!

We've been hard at work implementing controller support to bring you the most optimal joystick experience. We will continue to improve this in future patches, so give it a spin and share your thoughts!

In addition, we've taken a look at the entire User Interface. Lots of the UI was either temporary or quickly built-up during Early Access. This is no longer the case as all of it has been reworked and mostly finalized :)

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
Next up is the Farmer! The food pipeline has been lacking for a while. In the early game, food often came with the downside of pollution. Not being able to fix this doesn't feel great. In the late game, making yummy food is notoriously hard to keep up. At that point, there's a clear need for a farming setup. Thus, we're aiming to fix these aspects with our newest specialist.

[h2]Early Access 0.7.6: Controller Support[/h2]
0.7.6 brings Controller Support to the game! While this is a big feature, the changelog is pretty straightforward:

[h3]Controller Support[/h3]

• Added Controller Support: all features of the game are now playable with controller!
  
• Lots of the user interface was either temporary or quickly built-up during Early Access. This is now reworked and mostly finalized.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed issue where returning to the default view from the map would result in a blue haze due to a rescued drifter not being able to disembark.
  
• Fixed issue where the Salvage Boat Marker could be placed without a boat being built.
  
• Fixed issue where the game would crash when using an incompatible proton version.
  
• Fixed issue where a certain game-state could prevent leaving the World Map.
  
• Fixed issue where salvaging icons on the map would not disappear.
  
• Fixed issue where Scouting Markers on the map would not disappear.
  
• Fixed issue where the game would no longer save because of a deleted boat.
  
• Fixed issue where centering back to the Townheart did not work in the map.
  
• Fixed issue where the portrait of a rerolled drifter would be wrong in the Drifter Overview.
  
• Fixed issue where Upgrade Tooltip would not disappear.
  
• Fixed issue where mouse movement on the map was blocked by open game panels.
  
• You can no longer deactivate Parks, Watchtower, Radio Tower, Architect Station, Town Tugger or the Battery.
  
• Salvage Markers no longer give notifications on finished.
  
• Revised the Architect Mode. Architect Mode no longer creates an 'Architect Save' file.
  
• Landmarks now give an error if you cannot perform any actions.
  
• Updated the cancel behavior so panels are now closed in order when cancelled. ESC now cancels by default.
  
• Birds can now fetch any Flotsam.
  
• Various small bugfixes.
  

Hey Drifters,
Controller Support is ready for testing!
We've put in some serious effort implementing controller support and searching for the most optimal joystick experience. We're close, but not done yet! The version is now ready for testing, and with your feedback will get to the next level. (so jump in and share your thoughts!)

But that's not all, we've taken the opportunity to rework the entire UI. Our goal was to improve clarity,
and make it more understandable and useable. Let us know what you think :)

Keep in mind, the patch is still work-in-progress, so expect some bugs and UI quirks. We'll swiftly address any issues as feedback comes in.

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
With the holidays near, this update will most likely be in experimental for that entire period. After that, The Farmer will make it's appearance and tackle the food pipeline.

This patch is still in development and can be tested on the experimental branch to give feedback.

This is how you can enable the experimental branch of Flotsam. This will only work when you're not in a game:
1. Open Steam Library
2. Right click Flotsam
3. Select Properties
4. Go to tab 'Betas' at the top.
5. Select 'Experimental' in the drop-down.

[h2]Early Access 0.7.6e1: Controller Support[/h2]
0.7.6 brings Controller Support to the game! While this is a big feature, the changelog is pretty straightforward:

[h3]Controller Support[/h3]

• Added Controller Support: all features of the game are playable with controller.
  
• Reworked the entire user interface.
  
• Various small bugfixes.
  

Heya Drifters,

From the very first day of Early Access we set out to make waves together! Flotsam has come such a long way and it's all thanks to your support!

2023 was a great year! We released the first specialist, the Doctor, and soon after introduced their friends: the Engineer, Botanist and Architect. It's also the year where the experimental and handmade maps merged finally into one continuous and endless experience, and many other quality of life improvements :)

Flotsam continues to be a Labor of Love, our small team of three always appreciates the kind messages and enthusiasm from all of you. It's fuel to our fire! If you've enjoyed this journey with us, we'd be incredibly grateful for your nomination in the 'Labor of Love' category for the Steam Awards!

Driftwood dreams,
Llama's in Pajamas

Hey Drifters!
The Architect update is here!

We've heard your requests for the ability to relocate constructions and ways to restructure the town. It posed some interesting challenges and flabbergasted us for a while, given the game's setup, but we found a solution. Enter: The Architect! This specialist allows you to go into 'Architect Mode' and completely re-plan your entire town, re-think pipelines, or just move some buildings around.

We've also been working on improving performance, the game should run smoother now :)

[h2]What's next?[/h2]
We are working on adding controller support to the game! We want to make sure it feels right to play on a controller and on the Steamdeck, and it’s also going to help us explore the possibility of bringing Flotsam to other platforms in the future. We'll start testing this on experimental soon.

[h2]Early Access 0.7.5: The Architect[/h2]
The Architect! This specialist allows you to go into 'Architect Mode' and completely re-plan your entire town, re-think pipelines, or just move some buildings around.

[h3]The Architect[/h3]

• New Construction: Architect Station. The Architect station unlocks the 'Architect Mode'.
  
• Added the 'Architect Mode', in this mode you can move or store buildings and thus re-structure the town.
  
• Updated the tech tree to implement the Architect.
  
• Added The Architect specialist.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed issue causing salvaged landmarks to no longer be greyed on the map.
  
• Fixed issue where drifters could get stuck planting seeds after saving and loading.
  
• Various small fixes to inventories.
  
• Fixed issue where some seeds on landmarks would be null and not be salvaged nor shown.
  
• Fixed issue where drifters would only haul 3 items when doing import projects.
  
• Fixed issue where drying buildings would spawn audio errors.
  
• Fixed material memory leaks caused by the resource visual setup.
  
• Various small fixes to map movement.
  
• Fixed issue where construction variations wouldn't show.
  
• Fixed some items not showing the correct throwing visual.
  
• Fixed issue where the Decoration preview would get stuck when it was active while a park was being deconstructed.
  
• Fixed issue where birds would be destroyed when they were perching on an energy pole that was being deconstructed.
  

[h3]Performance[/h3]

• Adjusted underwater tiles to have simpler geometry.
  
• Added LODs for Fish Sticks, Town Tugger and Solar Panels.
  
• Reduced resolution of various textures.
  
• Removed unnecessary foam underneath some constructions.
  
• Texture updated for large storage yards.
  
• Resource visuals no longer cast shadows.
  
• Changes to the physics so it stays consistent when changing the game-speed.
  
• Various other improvements to the physics.
  

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• Wind streaks no longer rotate with the camera.
  
• Updated LODs for walkway pontons so they don't disappear on lowest settings.
  
• Various changes to the UI to make it more consistent.
  
• Changed the visuals of the Food Truck as the texturing style was outdated to the current game's visual style.
  
• Changed the visuals of the Water Container to increase its readability.
  
• Changed the visuals of the Solar Still to properly reflect it's boundary size.
  
• Updated the Townheart's propeller build-blocking area to more properly show the blocked building area, also allowing for some leeway.
  
• Properly tagged Goods, Mushrooms and Tools to sort in the top bar inventory.
  
• Made some changes and fixes to our sound editor.
  

Hey Drifters,

Time for a quick development update! The ‘Architect’ has been hanging out on the experimental branch for a little while now, which gives us a chance to make sure all bugs are hunted out. :) Considering that patch has quite an impact behind-the-scenes, it’ll stay there for a little while longer until we’re confident that everything will run smoothly.

In the meantime, we are neck-deep in research and development, working on adding controller support to the game. We want to make sure it feels right to play on a controller and on the Steamdeck, and it’s also going to help us explore the possibility of bringing Flotsam to other platforms in the future. This is a big feature, which will take a while.

[h2]So, what’s next?[/h2]

Once we've wrapped up the Architect Update, we’ll start testing out the controller support. After that we're turning our attention to an important issue: the absence of a tutorial. While it might not be as flashy as brand-new content, we’re ensuring everyone has a smooth onboarding experience. In the meantime, we're also looking at a simple farming system and fine-tuning the food pipeline.