ATLAS News

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Our commitment to bringing new features to ATLAS continues. ATLAS is still in Early Access, and we’re only in the beginning stages of developing the renewed ATLAS journey. Many changes are incoming and a lot of work is being done behind the scenes. All of your feedback has been very helpful and we’re thankful you’re taking this voyage with us as we shape the ATLAS experience.

Many of you have expressed that you wanted to hear more about our vision as we breathe new life into ATLAS. From the highest level, the main efforts are towards making the ocean fun and cleaning up the code. We are putting equal efforts into fixing bugs and rickety systems while we work on new things for you to do on the water. Apart from that, we feel that ATLAS suffers from a theming problem. In some aspects, the game tries to be almost a simulation, but in others, there are dragons and hydras. Currently, this creates a bit of incongruence which we are working to solve. Unifying the theme is one of the broader arcs within the design team. For example, it's fair to say that we want to edge away from being a high fantasy, "WoW with ships". There are lots of great ideas we are playing with, but nothing that we are able to share at this point. As we get closer to defining our ideas, we’ll bring them out onto the deck for you guys. :)

One of the bigger changes is a new, more optimized system for ships and new types of ships. This includes the mechanic of buying certain types of ships for gold. We’ve seen a lot of excitement and feedback around this topic, with many players hoping to find out more info about its current state. Unfortunately, that's all we can say right now. Please know there is a steady stream of content planned and we're half timing on that and half timing on fixing the bugs and cleaning up the code as we navigate towards a 1.0 release.

A lot of these bigger changes are going to take some time to fully implement, and some of the changes happening now are setting the foundations for that gameplay. Think of them as building blocks. For example, although the Farmhouses are indeed a QoL update, it’s just the first step in a longer scheme for a new system. Now, we’re excited to announce the second step - Warehouses!


Warehouses will be coming to ATLAS next week! Connect Warehouses to Farmhouses to automatically store the resources you gather! How will this system continue to evolve? You’ll have to wait and see. ;)

Please note that Farmhouses and Warehouses are still in their first iteration. We will continue to develop and improve them as we look at gameplay and receive player feedback.

We’re sure you have many questions on how the Warehouse itself will function as well. Leave us your questions in the comments section! We’ll be going more in-depth about Warehouses in the patch notes next week.

In the meantime, we’d like to share some of the concept art for Warehouses below:



We’ve received a lot of questions about the boss encounters continuing to reward EXP. After careful consideration, we will be leaving it “as is” for the remainder of Season 4.
We appreciate the reports you all have been sending us. Through your feedback, we saw that the problems with the boss encounters were a priority issue that the community wanted addressed. In the process of introducing the fixes, we found that it is a deep rabbit hole of accumulated issues. Unfortunately, it is going to take us some time to fully sort it out. We are a small but dedicated team with big aspirations, and there is a balance that we want to strike when it comes to implementing new features while continuing to work on existing bugs and balance issues. At this time, we currently do not have the resources to properly approach boss encounters and the myriad of issues surrounding the current state of endgame content. We have therefore come to recognize that it would be better to leave the boss encounters as is while we focus on implementing the next steps of the new system we are currently rolling out. We’ll still continue to include other fixes and adjustments as we can, but we will have to apologize for where we have to leave the state of endgame for now. However, please know that adjustments will be made before the next season wipe.

Please note, the zeroing out on some of the endgame exp is temporary. As an Early Access title, many things can and will continue to change during development - and your feedback is an integral part of our approach. We are very grateful for the reports and feedback we’ve received thus far and will continue to look to the community to help guide our actions and improve our processes. Thank you for not only helping us discover these issues, but for the insight you provide us as well. As our First Mate, the community, and the support and dedication we receive from you, means a lot to us.



Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew


For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information:

Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame

Ahoy Pathfinders!

We’re happy to see that many of you responded with much interest in our last Q&A with the developers! We’re here with our 2nd round of Ask a Pirate Day, where our developers aka the crew answer your questions from Twitter, Facebook, Steam, Discord, and of course, the forums.

Remember guys, we’re still in the very beginning stages of this renewed Atlas journey! The changes that we are making and considering are setting the framework for more changes to come! You can’t have a building without a solid foundation first, am I right mateys? As we continue to examine the game and receive your feedback, it is possible that we may change courses as well. Thanks for joining us in Early Access to help shape the ATLAS experience.

Without further ado, here is our next set of Q&A! :)



Question: Do you guys have any plans to fix the issue of people using freeports as safe storage?

Answer: Yes. However, it may take some time to implement any changes.



Question: Do you plan to balance Drake? It seems very hard compared to Hydra.

Answer: A larger pass of all encounters is coming and we will endeavor to fix this then.



Question: When do you guys plan to update the optimization of the game? Even people with good graphics cards have a hard time getting 60fps with high settings.

Answer: That is in the works. As we head towards 1.0, things should get better.



Question: Can you guys make mounts less of a focus in this game?

Answer: We agree. More and more "design energy" is being put into ships and the ocean. We are also planning some simplifications for land-based interactions. The changes we are making now are really the foundation for changes planned for the future. It may not be obvious choices now but hang in there with us.



Question: Will the 120 level cap on creatures be adjusted, or set to be adjusted, so those who would like to play a bit more with breeding be allowed to do so?

Answer: Right now, we are focused on putting more fun stuff on the water and encouraging players to play around there more. So, for now, I'm afraid this is a "no". Hang in there, though. Again, we’d like to emphasize that the changes we are making now are really the foundation for changes planned for the future.



Question: When can we get the devkit updated?

Answer: It's in the works as we speak.



Question: Are we ever getting new ships?

Answer: Yes, we are working on a new, more optimized system and will be launching additional ships once that's in.



Question: Are you ever going to increase the structure limit on ships?

Answer: It's hard to say. Right now we are taking a deep dive into making ships more viable and interesting as a whole and that may or may not play into it.



Question: Any plans to delve into an upgraded Atlas version on Unreal 5?

Answer: I would love that. We are looking into the possibility of it.



Question: Will there ever be an option to seat and unseat crew from cannons and sails from the wheel from the radial menu?

Answer: That is something we are currently considering. The realism of NPC's and NPC management is front of mind with respect to ships, but nothing firm has been decided. All I can tell you is that we don't like how stiff they are either.



Question: Any plans to pay NPCs to gather resources, man ships, etc? Will the NPCs be a little smarter?

Answer: Cleaning up everything about NPC's is going to come first and then we'll take a look at how we can grow them. But for now, this is a long way off.



Question: Will you make animals immune to damage while in a bola on pve. So much griefing going on.

Answer: Yeah, we understand that PVE is a bit rough. We'll take a look.



Question: Will there be a focus on bringing the ocean more content? New ships, more parts to make ships better looking, maybe different sails, and fixing the current ones.

Answer: Absolutely. That is our primary focus right now.



Question: Are you going to add a mail system to talk to other pathfinders in regions other than your own? As well as other MMO features?

Answer: Right now we don't have any dedicated plans for mail, but there are some systems coming online that may facilitate the development of a mail system and others that would definitely benefit from it. It won't be soon but it may well happen.



Like always, we’ll try to answer as many questions as we can in our next Q&A session. Please feel free to ask away on this forum post, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Steam!



Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information

Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame

Ahoy Pathfinders!

We find ourselves on the cusp of a new frontier as the crew begins rolling in new and exciting changes and content! As mentioned previously - the first of these new features, Farmhouses, are here! Let’s dive in and get a little in-depth about the update!

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Available under the Construction & Mercantilism Esotery of Building, players can construct both Wood & Stone Farmhouses in the Smithy. Farmhouses will require at least one thatch or wood unit for fuel to start gathering resources from nearby nodes, and as long as there are thatch and wood nodes within the area, the farmhouse will continue to fuel itself. Talk about efficiency! Players will be able to determine the farming radius based off of the light blue sphere during placement. Any resource with at least one node within the radius will be collected.

Additional Details:

• Structures built within the Farmhouse radius will reduce the farming efficiency
  
• The Farmhouse has 30 slots in its inventory
  
• Resources collected in the Farmhouse inventory will stack up to 10,000 units
  
• When collecting resources, they will be distributed within the player inventory at the normal stack size
  
• Farmhouse caps at 8000 weight and will stop auto-farming when reaching this point
  
• Stone Farmhouse gathers slightly faster and is more difficult to destroy
  
• Farmhouses may not be placed within 12,000 units of another Farmhouse.
  

While it will still be faster to manually farm for resources when you need something right away, a Farmhouse is sure to be a necessity in the long term. Be sure to take care of your farmhouse, other pathfinders may be eyeing to pillage it! It can be hard to tell when some resources go missing because you have such a large stockpile up for grabs. 😉

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Last week we also announced that Buying Ships for Gold would be coming in this update. However, the tides have changed our course! We heard feedback from the community regarding Buying Ships for Gold, and it spurned our creative juices. We’ll be holding on to this to make it into a more comprehensive feature! It’ll be well worth the wait, mateys! 🙂

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As we mentioned last week, all players above level 80 will be reduced to level 80 in response to a leveling abuse. This was not a decision that we made lightly and we greatly considered community feedback on this matter. After the crew considered all options and looked into what was possible within the current infrastructure of ATLAS, we decided this would be the best course of action. The level cap will remain 120, so Pathfinders can pick back up and get right back into their journey. Although this may also affect some righteous Pathfinders who were able to level up far, we felt that this was in the best interest for the health of the game. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. We will be improving our processes moving forward and are committed to making sure that ATLAS is a fun and fair experience for all.

With the Farmhouses, we have included a few balance adjustments and tackled a tricky fix as well. We’re making some adjustments to the Army of the Damned Treasure Guards in an effort to make certain content more accessible for all styles of pirating! The difficulty will remain the same, but the reduced mob size should make the encounter more manageable for solo Pathfinders and smaller crews. See the complete change log for v407.2 in the patch notes section below!

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v407.2

[h3]Farmhouse[/h3]

• Added Farmhouse and Stone Farmhouse to the Esotery of Building Skill
  
• Requires Smithy to Craft
  
• Initial Balance pass on gather speed, radius, cost to build, max weight, fuel cost, etc
  

[h3]Army of the Damned Treasure Guards[/h3]

• Reduced number of guards spawned per wave to three
  
• Modified type of guards spawned
  

[h3]Abominable Snowman Encounter[/h3]

• Removed XP reward
  

[h3]Explosive Barrel[/h3]

• Fixed duplication bug
  

[h3]Player XP Rollback[/h3]

• Any characters over level 80 have been rolled back to level 80
  

[h3]Torpedo[/h3]

• Increased damage by 50%
  

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Happy Sailing,

-ATLAS Crew

⚓For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information⚓
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame

Yo ho! Pathfinders.

As previously promised there is some new ATLAS content on the horizon! We’re excited to bring you all a little sneak peek of two of the new features in our next update coming next week!

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Introducing the first of our upcoming features, Farmhouses! Tired of toiling away on land like a landlubber, when you could be out adventuring on the high seas? You’re in luck! The new Farmhouses will automatically collect resources within a range around itself. All you scallywags can now spend less time on your chores and more time sailing out beyond the shores!

Take a gander at some of the concept art for various Farmhouses styles below:
*Please note that these are concept art and not the final rendition.

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In addition to the upcoming Farmhouse update, we’ll also be introducing the ability to purchase ships with gold. Building ships is core to the ATLAS experience, so you can still craft your own masterpiece. Afterall, nothing beats the beauty of a ship that you create with your own blood, sweat, and tears! However, if you have a chest full o’gold and are anxious to get out sea quickly, purchasable ships will come in handy! We’ll be interested to see how this option will expand sea travel and interactions.

More details to come! Stay tuned!

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Happy Sailing,

-ATLAS Crew

⚓For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information:⚓
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame

We appreciate all the feedback we have received, both written by hardened sea dogs, and those still getting their feet wet. We’re monitoring the waves in the Forums, Discord, Steam, Reddit, Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook. Even when we hit rocky shores, you’re there mannin’ the sails. We’re excited to answer some questions that have popped up during our new journey in ATLAS Season 4: The Maelstrom and we hope you’re looking forward to all the new content that will be released in the coming months, like Trade Winds, Farms, Warehouses, 'n more!

Below are some questions & answers regarding the future development of ATLAS, straight from the horse’s mouth.

[h3]Question: I guess my main [question] would be about new PVP official servers. When you claim an island, is it safe for you or do raids happen? I don't mind PVP at sea but base raids suck. Just curious. Thanks.[/h3]

Answer: Atlas is intended to be a game about pirates, and while our land-based combat is deep and rich, the new energy behind Atlas is to bring that depth and richness to sea as well. More interesting interactions with the oceans and ships is where we are pointed and we'll be making a host of changes to drive more player energy in that direction. Look for our future development to lean towards creating opportunities for greater rewards and higher risks on the water with more opportunities for opt-in conflict.
[h3]
Question: So, I believe that this is the first time that you've acknowledged "seasons". Are you guys considering regular wipes to ATLAS pvp? in many hardcore pvpers opinions, there should be to keep the game fresh. It seems to drop off about 3-4 months in. or maybe a server for it to test?[/h3]

Answer: We agree that it's important for the health of a survival game to have energetic competition over resources, but we want to have our cake and eat it too. So, we are looking for ways to keep these struggles fresh without completely tossing out player progress. We think that coming at it from both sides and wiping when necessary while at the same time helping players hold on to their progress will lead to a vibrant environment of continuous conflict without stagnation.
[h3]
Question: Will ATLAS be available on PS4?[/h3]

Answer: For sure, we want Atlas to be accessible on as many platforms as possible. We are considering whether that means trying to go to PS4 at the end of its life cycle or holding out for the PS5, which is not far off. Until that decision is made, we are focussing on bringing all the new features to our existing players.

We hope that answered some of your lingering questions. We have many more questions out there in the deep, and we plan to have Ask a Pirate day as a regular Forum post. Feel free to drop questions here or on our other social channels, and your question might get picked.


Also, be sure to hashtag your screenshots with #PlayATLAS and tag us for a chance to be featured on our forum posts. Here's a screenshot by bombtrackbart on Twitter.


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame