Last Oasis News

We received an immense amount of feedback from the Beta Branch Testing - this was quite incredible for us, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote in the poll and post their feedback.



Overall, we were very happy to see that in general, the community enjoyed the new direction for Last Oasis. Doubling down on making the game world more interesting and challenging through PvE mechanics and encounters will improve the gameplay experience for both new and existing players - it seems 85% agree on that, and so do we.

Having said all that, over one third of you think that the water and harvesting pacing were not enjoyable and basically no one thought the preview was perfect. Luckily for you, we agree. We absolutely do not think that we stuck the landing with respect to the early S5 experience. Nor did we expect to. That’s what the test was for - to see the problems and get it right. The immediate hotfix was part of that, but additional changes are coming and the rest of the devblog will talk about some of our thoughts on major systems.



Overall, we’re pretty happy with the core gameplay loop of exploring, looking for sources of water, and ultimately being encouraged to return to base - water is essentially an endurance limit. From the feedback we read, it seemed like most solo/duos found water challenging but achievable, while groups either struggled or spent lots of time standing around a campfire and chopping cactus. This is not the intention.

The early game experience will receive additional tweaks to improve the water gameplay. However, we don’t just want to buff cactus drop rates until you can bulldoze your way through it.

Instead, we want to introduce new gameplay features to allow players to solve the issues for themselves.

For example, look at this new buildable structure, which we labeled (for now) the Humidifier:



The humidifier will create humid air inside your base, allowing you to quench your thirst without consuming your precious water.

We will also introduce plenty more water sources for you to find, like springs that can be dug up.

This is the approach we want to take to nearly all problems we encounter through player feedback - instead of just removing the obstacle, we want to add gameplay elements that enrich the world and the player experience, and gives players the most interesting aspect about sandbox survival games: choice.



The most common criticism of schematics can be broken down into a few categories: a concern for inventory space, concern about being gated by RNG, and concern about being stone aged. Let’s go through it one by one.

We agree that early schematics are too inventory consuming. While having to choose between schematics at some point is part of the design, we think that it is unnecessary in the early stages.

We want you to feel great about owning schematics - we certainly don’t want you to feel like it’s a burden or maintenance heavy. We’ll improve this in multiple ways:

First, the schematics bag will be available earlier in progression. It’s a pouch that allows you to conveniently store a larger number of schematics without occupying inventory slots. We will also introduce a base container specifically for schematics, allowing you to use them without physically having them on you - just being in the base or on the walker is enough.

Other than that, we are constantly considering when and how merging different types of schematics improves gameplay more than it hurts exploration and progression.



We looked at the drop rate of tools, and came to the conclusion that combining them is, in many cases, better for gameplay. Our idea for schematics is that their drops are serving very specific purposes. Which brings us to:



There was criticism about RNG affecting the gameplay too much, but in reality this is much more of an information issue: Randomness is much, much less prominent than people assumed, but the game didn’t do a good job of explaining it. Each enemy and each camp has a very limited range of schematics it can drop - it is far from random. Once you know that, you know exactly where to go to receive what you need. The experience is not meant to emulate an MMORPG. We don’t expect you to be grinding the same Mobs 100s of times to get the one thing you’re after.

Therefore, we are considering exposing this information to players in-game. For example, we could show you which schematics can potentially drop when looking at a defeated rupu, or a camp. On the other hand, that removes a bit of the exploration part. Let us know what you prefer - mystery or more clearly defined goals?

Getting stone-aged (all of your progression wiped out) due to PVP should not be a real issue - remember, PVE tiles are perfectly valid base locations where you can not be attacked. However, a lot of complaints are about taking longer breaks. This is something we understand is a big issue, and for that we’re looking into a kind of “vacation mode” at trade stations. We think allowing players to log off with a single walker and some schematics and come back at a later point will not change the balance of the game, but be a nice QoL feature.



This one was also noted often. And the more we get to play ourselves in this new version, the more we think that there is some great gameplay opportunity for introducing packable bases in S5, but in a different way. Founder walkers like the Balang, capable of packing and unpacking a base foundation - will be introduced as some later tier progression which allows for a different gameplay experience. We will take a hard look at the balance to make sure it fits in, but we think it’s a nice variety to the gameplay.



Yes, we missed the mark there on the early Grappling Hook;, it wasn’t fun any more. We’ll continue to tweak the grapple to achieve the intended design. We realize that grappling is very fun and something that lots of new players fall in love with immediately, but also a tool that can often be too strong in the hands of experienced players.



We were happy to see that most players liked the improved difficulty of the PVE world. The 48h Beta Branch test was obviously just a small teaser of things to come. Overall, we want to make PVE not artificially difficult, but due to interesting behaviors and encounters.

This time we’ll show you a bit of some later tier Rupu, but soon we’ll go deeper into the more walker-focused PVE challenges you will encounter.





According to the poll and community posts, some people do not like this new direction. For you I believe I have some good news: Because of these drastic changes, we decided to preserve Season 4 as it was on a separate branch together with S5 launch. Which means you will be able to host your own server and realm as it was.

If you prefer a middle ground, remember that most of the changes we are implementing are optional features for server owners: You can choose how you want the players to play on your server, what feeling you want to go for in terms of difficulty and balance, and other things you’ll be free to edit at any time.



There are a million other odds and ends that annoy both you and us. We read all your feedback on Discord and Steam. We promise. And while we can’t address every single issue directly, we take it into account, we try to see the bigger picture, and figure out solutions that improve your gameplay experience.

As expected, emotions got high - my inbox seems about 50:50 split between love for the new direction and, well, less friendly words.

Since feedback is crucial for me to adjust the course for this new direction, at the end of this post you’ll find a poll to voice your opinion - please make your voice heard, positive or negative!



Originally, Last Oasis was supposed to be a game about people roaming the lands on walking land vehicles, fighting threats and each other while improving their vehicle. From there it went to a prototype where we tried this concept internally - and it was fun. Amazing fun. The thrill was high, fights were fun, victories felt great, losses were painful but still endurable. That was about 2 years before LO was released as early access.

However, if we jump forward to the status quo, this is the experience most people have when trying LO in Season 4: you follow the tutorial, build your first firefly walker, progress from the cradle to the canyon, drag a few boxes through the desert to hope to get some technology upgrades, if you’re lucky you get a dinghy walker, and then suddenly someone drives up to you, kills you, destroys everything you built up in the last ~6 hours and that’s it. Game over.

I’m sure you can see the discrepancy between the envisioned game and the actual game. For some people - those perfectly organized, with perfect information about the game - this intended walker fight experience exists. But for most people, experiencing the fun parts was impossible.

So the question for Season 5 was from the very beginning: How can I make sure that everyone gets to experience the fun parts, not just the top 5%?

That left me with two viable choices: either get rid of the survival sandbox aspect completely and turn it into an arena game, or double down on the survival sandbox.

If you played the beta, you can certainly tell that we went for doubling down on fixing the sandbox.

[h2]Why is water suddenly so important?[/h2]

The first (and so far probably biggest) source of controversy is the water. Water is your bond to your base, and a reward for exploration. The better you become, the less of an issue water becomes. Rupu camps drop sources of water, fruits and pulps are sources of water, but they are rewards for going out into the world and coming back alive. If you spend your time close to your base, you will only find limited water sources like cacti.

As you progress, you find better water sources, tools, and containers - extending your reach.

And that is the main theme for Season 5: going on trips from your base, and trying to make it back alive with more than you went out with.

[h2]But why static bases? Why not let us have all of our bases on Walkers like before? Why settle down in this game about moving vehicles?[/h2]

This is about risk management. If your walker is your base, your base is permanently vulnerable. And therefore your belongings are constantly at risk. A walker cannot be easily damageable and serve the purpose of a base simultaneously. Therefore, we intentionally split the functions.

Walkers are no longer intended to be your base - instead, they are your main exploration and combat tool

This means that if your walker gets destroyed (which can now happen through PVE), it is no longer a complete and utter loss for you. Depending on your frame of reference, this makes the game both more and less hardcore.

For those that managed to reach a Firefly or even a Dinghy during the Beta - you probably noticed that the first time was a bit difficult and needed some thinking, while the second time was much easier. This is by design. Walkers are easier to be destroyed, but you can quickly recover, build a new walker, and try again.

[h2]Why do I suddenly have to care about PVE dangers? Wasn’t it hard enough to survive PVP already?[/h2]
The reason for making PVE in the cradle rather brutal was to teach a new gameplay: You are safe in your base, and you are at risk whenever you are outside.

This is a drastic change from the way LO used to be played previously, where environmental risks and survival were not an issue - until you run into another player, who will almost certainly take everything you own.

The new season is a completely different take on this: a constant risk, but it’s controllable by the player to how much they are ready to expose themselves. Players can control their rate of progression, and are no longer expected to instantly know the ins and outs of the game from the first hour.


The reason for testing the cradle in its current state was to see if this direction can work.

We need your feedback for this! The most important question is really if you dislike the new direction in general, if you like the direction but dislike the balance, or if you think this was just a straight up better version of LO. Be honest, be constructive, be critical, be civil, and thank you all for taking the time to test this new variation.

Thanks for all the feedback so far - keep it coming please.

- fixed 3 known server crashes
- increased pickaxe durability from 170 to 300
- increased sickle durability from 170 to 300
- increased durability on stoneaxe from 140 to 200
- reduced sandstorm amount by 50%
- increased cactus flesh drop rates to 150%
- increased wood drop on hatchets by 20%, on axes by 40%
- lowered stamina consumption from 4 to 3 per pickup
- lowered water crafting time by ~35%
- increased fiber bandage healing from 30 to 60
- nerfed drudge leading precision
- nerfed harasser throwing precision

And I should know - I designed it. And more than that, I played it - extensively.

When I say it sucks, I mean I’m not having fun for long when playing it. Not as long as other survival games I enjoy. And I’m not alone with that opinion.

We could argue back and forth why Last Oasis is objectively not fun and what needs to be changed to make it a great experience. We did, actually - for 4 Seasons, to be precise.

And while each season got rid of tons of problems, there was always that one fundamental issue remaining:

I, personally, am not having fun when playing Last Oasis for long.

After Season 4 it finally hit me. I’ve been on a wild goose chase. I’ve been trying to chase down the reason why players don’t have fun in LO. This is a fruitless exercise until I can answer why I am not having fun.

Suddenly, the question was no longer “what can I do to fix LO”. The question became “If I were to make LO from scratch, what would I do”.

And the answer to that question is Season 5 - LOverhaul.



First, the (slightly egotistic) good news: I’m having a blast playing it. In fact, I never, ever, had so much fun in LO by myself. It’s challenging, it’s surprising, it’s rewarding, and I want to keep playing.

Now, for the (slightly) bad news: A lot of you will not like it. The most common feedback was nearly verbatim: “I love it the way it is, but this is way too difficult for the average players”.

For the next few days, we shall put that theory to the test.

LOverhaul has a strong focus on PVE. And the PVE is brutal. The world is in every way trying to actively kill you. The sun will make you constantly struggle for survival. Water is precious. Massive, deadly sandstorms can catch you off guard. Aggressive Rupu are roaming the lands, not only attacking you, but also your structures and your walker - should you even get that far. And if you think those are hard to deal with, wait until you encounter the ones in camps or those manning siege equipment.



The difficulty in Last Oasis used to be non-existent - until you encountered another player, who could destroy everything you owned in under 3 minutes. Now, players will have to make a conscious decision to join PVP when they are ready for it, and the PVE teaches you, through trial and error, how to stay safe.

You will find tools to help you survive this harsh environment, but often you’ll have to make due with situational circumstances. Your tube spade will help you build a small base to keep you safe, but the moment you’re stepping outside - all bets are off.

For some players, this is great. You will have to carve out victory after victory, and each defeat will be a lesson in what you can do better. Every time you manage to come back to your base with some precious loot you feel glorious. Every time your greed gets the better of you, and you bite off a bit more than you can chew, the lesson will be painful but deserved. The game has a lot to explore, and many options become available as you learn the mechanics better.

For others, the experience will be awful. The game no longer holds your hands - at all. No protected slots, no tutorial, no linear missions that gently guide you through progression. Just you and a sandbox full of tools and deadly dangers, and if you don’t think ahead, the world will absolutely punish you.

I don’t want to sugarcoat that. LOverhaul is not a game for everyone. And that’s ok.

However, it’s important to establish a good baseline for those who like the general direction. There’s fun difficulty, there’s challenging difficulty, and there’s ridiculous ragequit difficulty.

I absolutely need your help to establish a good middle ground. Which finally brings us to:



Today we start a small beta test to establish a good baseline for the difficulty. It will be cradle maps in PVE mode and available for about 48 hours. The beta is available to download on a separate branch of your Steam app (right click app - Properties - Betas - betabranch) and the realm will open up about 8 pm CET / 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT. For the next 2 days we’ll be keeping servers up to gather data about the experience, then turn it off again so we can evaluate the result in peace. This will help us establish a baseline of difficulty that we want to see.

We absolutely need your feedback:

• Does it feel rewarding?
  
• Is it tough?
  
• Is it too tough?
  
• Is it fair?
  
• And most of all, are you having fun?
  

A word of advice - if you play it like you used to play LO, you will fail. Ironically, new players seem to fare better than the seasoned ones initially, because the experience is so vastly different. Have an open mind, enjoy, and let me know what you think of this direction.

- chadz

Hey everyone!

We’re very excited to announce we’ll be kicking off S5’s beta branch on July 5th. Let’s get into the details.

For anyone unfamiliar with these kind of testing phases, a beta branch is a separate branch of the game that has many of the changes intended to go in the game for the next season. It will be available through the betas tab in Steam, and will be open for everyone to join by simply switching to the proper branch.

Our intention with this beta branch is to have a proper stress test where we can gather as much feedback as possible on the early game experience in the first two maps available, find any performance issues (or worse, crashes), and get these things ironed out before we move into Season 5 release.

As mentioned before, we already have internal playtesting going, though for the most part it’s us developers, and the staging testers in our Discord. So far the biggest focus has been on the bad crashes that could cause an awful experience for the beta branch, and coming up with a better balanced early game experience. We feel we’re pretty much ready to move into public testing now.

With so many changes comes a pretty big possibility of many of them ruining what we expect to be a pretty good impression of this update and what’s to come, so getting those out of the way early is what this internal testing has been for. Many of the new features and changed mechanics need a much larger amount of players for us to get proper feedback on how they add to the game, what kind of tweaks we need to make, etc.

As for Season 5 release, we’ll be sharing more details as we get nearer to its release, but as you probably already gathered from our previous devblogs, our development focus in S5 will shift toward a much more fitting Early Access style of development, something which we are fully committed to. We will be quickly iterating, changing and adding things as the season progresses, similar to the beta branch but at a much larger scale.

Keep an eye on our Discord and Twitter. More information about the beta test will be shared there next week

—Neon