Hey Drifters,

Patch 0.9.0f7 addresses some issues with pathfinding and world generation that required some significant changes to how these systems work. Therefore we have chosen to release the patch on the experimental branch before bringing it to the main branch. If you encounter any issues while playing, please let us know through the in-game bug reporting tool that can be found in the Pause Menu.

--

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

• Reworked pathfinding to be multi threaded, this should reduce lag when pathing queries take a long time to complete.
  
• Drifters now follow their paths more smoothly
  
• The noticeable lag when spawning the next world tile has been reduced
  
• Fixed issue where the energy grid could be broken when loading a saved game
  
• Fixed some issues with deconstructing fields/parks that have walkways attached to them.

Hey Drifters,

Another couple of fixes:

• Fixed issue where loading older saves could reset all Drifter priorities to 0, causing them to stand idle and not perform tasks. Now, if a Drifter’s priorities are all set to 0 on load, they will be reset to 1.
  
• Fixed issue where the first rescue quest triggered landmark markers too early.
  
• Fixed issue where fishing rarer fish types gave the same experience as common ones, despite taking longer.
  
• Fixed issue where the Town Tugger would incorrectly display a connection error, even when properly connected to the Townheart.
  
• Fixed issue where some shortcuts could be triggered while typing.

• Added various additions to the Drifter looks.

Hey Drifters,

Tiny little weekend fix:

• Fixed issue where the Buoy Marker Panel displayed the wrong amount of salvageable resources when resizing its radius.

Hey Drifters,

Quick patch fixing some issues:

• Fixed issue where Drifters salvaging a landmark with a boat could get stuck at the Mooring Point after loading a save.
  
• Fixed issue where Drifters would not salvage certain landmarks with boats.
  
• Standardized Mooring Points across all landmarks: each now has 5 available Mooring Points. Drifters will only take as many boats as needed based on available resources.

• Added new map tiles.
  
• Decreased flotsam spawn rates in Polluted Woods region.
  
• Behind the scenes: Improved the in-game bug reporting tool's log collector.

Hey Drifters,

Quick patch fixing some issues:

• Fixed issue where boats would be sent to Landmarks or Buoy Markers without picking up any items.
  
• Fixed issue where map camera would get stuck when exiting the map while panning to a landmark.
  
• Fixed issue where Architect Mode would break when opening the Construction Panel.
  
• Fixed issue where games could not be saved due to an issue with the energy grid.
  
• Fixed issue where the Weight Tab was displayed in various building panels.
  
• Behind the scenes: Improved in-game bug reporting tool.

Hey Drifters,

Quick patch fixing some important issues:

• Fixed issue where Drifters could get stuck if an item in a producer's export inventory was used to produce a recipe. This could happen after cancelling a recipe.
  
• Fixed issue where Drifter spawning would break when the first entered region did not have a Scouting landmark.
  
• Fixed issue where flotsam could spawn inside City landmarks or inside blockage, causing pathfinding issues where Drifters would repeatedly re-enter boats. (This fix does not fix existing save files where the town is already in or near a city, but will affect newly discovered cities.)
  
• Additionally, increased the spacing between landmarks in the City region, which could also cause the previous issue. (This fix does not fix existing save files where the town is already in or near a city, but will affect newly discovered cities.)
  
• Fixed an issue where grown fish in the Fish Farm would not be removed after loading a saved game.
  
• Updated the Fish Farm panel to more accurately display the amount of Chow consumed per day.
  
• Added more Mooring Points to most landmarks to accommodate the high number of salvageable resources.

Hey Drifters,

Quick patch fixing some important issues:

• Fixed issue where loading a save from a version before 0.9.0 would retrigger Town Naming and Drifter Selection, resulting in an unintended increase of three extra Drifters.
  
• Fixed issue where the dialogue buttons were no longer working with Gamepad. (This is a quick fix; a more refined implementation is coming soon.)
  
• Fixed issue where the Tutorial could get stuck if players adjusted time controls in the opposite order as the quest intended.

Hey Drifters,
This update is a big one! In 0.9.0: Radio Technician we’ve tackled a bunch of interconnected features to improve the overall play experience. It sets the stage for the narrative, improves key features like morale and town movement, and updates the entire world. There’s a lot to cover, so check out the changelog for the full list!

Our original intent was to let this patch simmer on experimental for a long time and slowly update the narrative as we go, but! Since the patch has been widely well received on experimental and has huge changes to the overall game experience, we decided to put it live starting with the Radio Technician's narrative.

Now, that means we'll be hopping on experimental again soon to test additional narrative, quests for specialists, drifter stories and more.

This patch focuses on improving the overall play experience by tackling a bunch of interconnected features all at once. It sets the stage for the narrative, improves key features like morale and town movement, updates the world, and smooths out the gameplay. This patch is a huge step towards developing the game towards the 1.0 release. Note: the narrative will be released in small chunks over multiple patches. This patch only includes the introductory quests and the Radio Technician.

• Did extensive work behind the scenes to implement scenarios, quests and narrative. This is the groundwork for the narrative as we develop towards 1.0.
  
• Without spoiling: Added an introductory quest that unfolds after rescuing a certain drifter with an idea to reach more people. This quest line will gradually expand in upcoming patches.
  
• Without spoiling: Added a first small 'encounter' quest that reveals more about the drifters you rescue. More of these will be added in upcoming patches.
  
• Added various new landmarks tied to quests and specialists.

• Pollution has returned! Some regions now have pollution levels.
  
• Currently these regions are: Polluted Woods and City. Both of these regions will only come into play later in the game.
  
• Drifters swimming in polluted waters will gradually accumulate pollution.
  
• Certain buildings, like the Desalinator, will generate a pollution cloud when used in polluted regions.
  
• Certain resources, like Seaweed, will be polluted in these regions and must be cleaned before they can be used to produce non-polluted food.

• Scouting now reveals both the current region and it's neighboring regions.
  
• Scouting can now spot drifters and other notable landmarks in neighboring regions. The Watchtower no longer spots drifters during the night.
  
• The map now displays the town's maximum movement range.
  
• New Region: Shallows. A fully flooded area with no landmarks, contains flotsam and fish.
  
• New Region: Farmlands. Previously part of the 'rural ruins' region, now a distinct region with farmland landmarks and its own unique resources.
  
• Updated Region: Rural Ruins. Now a compact village region, where various goods can be found.
  
• New region: Polluted Woods. Previously part of the Woods region, now a pollution-afflicted variant with it's own unique resources.
  
• Overhauled all regions to better reflect their identity and have more logical resource distribution.
  
• Remade all maps applying new region structure.

• The time will now speed up by 25x when all drifters are sleeping, effectively skipping the night when nothing occurs.
  
• Reworked Drifter Morale:
  
• Morale no longer affects experience gain directly but now modifies their work and movement speed! However, drifters working with high morale (and thus work speed) will still result in more experience gain, as they finish their work quicker.
  
• Morale now ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the maximum. (Previously, morale could go negative 10 and positive 10) All morale modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
  
• Drifters now have a morale modifier for Expertise. This is a morale modifier based on their level. Resulting in low level drifters having a high morale boost, which slowly becomes drops as they grow in level.
  
• Removed the "Exhaustion" morale modifier. Instead, drifters now have a negative morale modifier when they are without a home.
  
• Rebalanced the work-speed modifiers gained from the Drifter's attributes, as morale now also modifies work-speed.
  
• Drifters now prioritize tasks more efficiently. Additionally, they are more responsive to priority changes.
  
• Greatly improved efficiency for drifters doing workshop assignments.
  
• Additionally, you can now set priorities on each workshop.
  
• Adjusted the order of all drifter's assignments to improve base efficiency.
  
• Reintroduced level-based experience scaling: Higher levels now require progressively more experience to level up. Previously, every level required a flat experience amount.

• The Town Tugger now only increases the town's weight capacity, thus the town's movement range is now solely determined by the energy storage capacity.
  
• Due to this change, weight tiers now increase gradually and are never lowered by building additional Town Tuggers. The previous named weight tiers, like "light," have been replaced by 20 numbered weight tiers that increase movement costs at specific weight thresholds.

• Food has undergone a significant rework due to huge pressure on food production as the game progressed into mid-game. The pacing felt too harsh once 'ordinary' food was required, so we've aimed smoothed this out.
  
• All food recipes have been either rebalanced, removed or new ones have been created to create a more gradual progression.
  
• Wild Farmland landmarks now only yield potatoes by default, the only crop to survive the garbage floods. Tomato, wheat, and corn landmarks are now rare.
  
• Added a new food quality: "Tasty". This bridges the gap between "Ordinary" and "Yummy," easing the transition during mid-game.
  
• The Fishing Chair has been reworked to fulfill its original intended purpose. While previously it could slowly fish infinite Nibbler fish, it can now fish any type of fish within the town's swimming range.
  
• The Chop Shop and the food "Fish Chops" have been removed, as they no longer serve any purpose.
  
• The Unbottler now requires Eel-ectricity to function.
  
• Added new specialist: The Farmer.

• Goods have now been split into "Plastic Junk", "Wood Junk" and "Electric Junk". Each have to be recycled in the Recycler for their scrap variant.
  
• Tools have now been split into "Demolition Tools", "Chopping Tools", "Precision Tools", "Power-Tools", "Pumps" and "Ladders". Different tools now unlock different resources from landmarks.
  
• New construction: Power-Tool Maker. This building requires Eel-ectricity to make powerful Tools.
  
• Overhauled the Tech Tree.
  
• New construction: Wood Plaza(s). These are wooden Park Variants to introduce decorations earlier in the game.
  
• New decorations: "Simple Decorations". These are decorations made using Plastic and Wood Junk.
  
• Removed Seaweed Spores, Seaweed can now be grown using only Seaweed, similar to other crops.
  
• New crop: Pine Tree. It grows slowly and can be harvested for Drywood.

• You can now attach buildings to parks and fields.
  
• The Build Menu has now been split into a Build Menu and a Decoration Menu, making it easier to place and remove decorations.
  
• You can now directly report bugs in the game by going to the Pause Menu and using the bug-reporting tool.
  
• LoadWindow now displays the path to the saves directory when the explorer button is clicked on any platform other than windows.
  
• Greatly improved the overall performance of the game.
  
• And many more various small improvements and fixes.

• Fixed issue where incorrect information was displayed in the Glossary regarding Weight, Research Requirements and more.
  
• Updated the Glossary to display all available information on Buildings and Resources.
  
• Improved the Glossary’s visuals for better readability.

• Fixed issue where Drifters did not receive a morale boost from researching if it was their affinity.
  
• Fixed issue where a Drifter would remain displayed in the HUD.
  
• Fixed issue where a Seagull landmark had a Drifter on it instead.
  
• Fixed issue where pathfinding could break, resulting in lag spikes.
  
• Fixed issue where the game would lag due to a large number of daily report notifications being restored.
  
• Fixed issue where rescuable drifters appeared as 'NULL' after loading a save.
  
• Fixed issue where drifters would get stuck when a workshop was deconstructed.
  
• Fixed issue where producers were unable to produce items after an item that was being produced got cancelled.

Hey Drifters,
This update is a big one! In 0.9 we’ve tackled a bunch of interconnected features to improve the overall play experience. It sets the stage for the narrative, improves key features like morale and town movement, and updates the entire world. There’s a lot to cover, so check out the changelog for the full list.

Only a small part of the narrative will be available at first. During experimental we'll be expanding the narrative, refining the gameplay and squashing bugs.

This patch will be on experimental for a while since the changes are huge. We’ll be listening to feedback and making adjustments as we continue developing this update.

---

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.

This patch focuses on improving the overall play experience by tackling a bunch of interconnected features all at once. It sets the stage for the narrative, improves key features like morale and town movement, updates the world, and smooths out the gameplay. This patch is a huge step towards developing the game towards the 1.0 release. Note: only a small part of the narrative will be available at the start of experimental, more will be added in future patches.

• Did extensive work behind the scenes to implement scenarios, quests and narrative. This is the groundwork for the narrative as we develop towards 1.0.
  
• Without spoiling: Added an introductory quest that unfolds after rescuing a certain drifter with an idea to reach more people. This quest line will gradually expand during experimental and upcoming patches.
  
• Without spoiling: Added a first small 'encounter' quest that reveals more about the drifters you rescue. More of these will be added as development continues.
  
• Added various new landmarks tied to quests and specialists.

• Pollution has returned! Some regions now have pollution levels.
  
• Currently these regions are: Polluted Woods and City. Both of these regions will only come into play later in the game.
  
• Drifters swimming in polluted waters will gradually accumulate pollution.
  
• Certain buildings, like the Desalinator, will generate a pollution cloud when used in polluted regions.
  
• Certain resources, like Seaweed, will be polluted in these regions and must be cleaned before they can be used to produce non-polluted food.

• Scouting now reveals both the current region and it's neighboring regions.
  
• Scouting can now spot drifters and other notable landmarks in neighboring regions. The Watchtower no longer spots drifters during the night.
  
• The map now displays the town's maximum movement range.
  
• New Region: Shallows. A fully flooded area with no landmarks, contains flotsam and fish.
  
• New Region: Farmlands. Previously part of the 'rural ruins' region, now a distinct region with farmland landmarks and its own unique resources.
  
• Updated Region: Rural Ruins. Now a compact village region, where various goods can be found.
  
• New region: Polluted Woods. Previously part of the 'wood' region, now a pollution-afflicted variant with it's own unique resources.
  
• Overhauled all regions to better reflect their identity and have more logical resource distribution.
  
• Remade all maps applying new region structure.

• The time will now speed up by 25x when all drifters are sleeping, effectively skipping the night when nothing occurs.
  
• Reworked Drifter Morale:
  
• Morale no longer affects experience gain directly but now modifies their work and movement speed! However, drifters working with high morale (and thus work speed) will still result in more experience gain, as they finish their work quicker.
  
• Morale now ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the maximum. (Previously, morale could go negative 10 and positive 10) All morale modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
  
• Drifters now have a morale modifier for Expertise. This is a morale modifier based on their level. Resulting in low level drifters having a high morale boost, which slowly becomes drops as they grow in level.
  
• Removed the "Exhaustion" morale modifier. Instead, drifters now have a negative morale modifier when they are without a home.
  
• Rebalanced the work-speed modifiers gained from the Drifter's attributes, as morale now also modifies work-speed.
  
• Drifters now prioritize tasks more efficiently. Additionally, they are more responsive to priority changes.
  
• Greatly improved efficiency for drifters doing workshop assignments.
  
• Additionally, you can now set priorities on each workshop.
  
• Adjusted the order of all drifter's assignments to improve base efficiency.
  
• Reintroduced level-based experience scaling: Higher levels now require progressively more experience to level up. Previously, every level required a flat experience amount.

• The Town Tugger now only increases the town's weight capacity, thus the town's movement range is now solely determined by the energy storage capacity.
  
• Due to this change, weight tiers now increase gradually and are never lowered by building additional Town Tuggers. The previous named weight tiers, like "light," have been replaced by 20 numbered weight tiers that increase movement costs at specific weight thresholds.

• Food has undergone a significant rework due to huge pressure on food production as the game progressed into mid-game. The pacing felt too harsh once 'ordinary' food was required, so we've aimed smoothed this out.
  
• All food recipes have been either rebalanced, removed or new ones have been created to create a more gradual progression.
  
• Wild Farmland landmarks now only yield potatoes by default, the only crop to survive the garbage floods. Tomato, wheat, and corn landmarks are now rare.
  
• Added a new food quality: "Tasty". This bridges the gap between "Ordinary" and "Yummy," easing the transition during mid-game.
  
• The Fishing Chair has been reworked to fulfill its original intended purpose. While previously it could slowly fish infinite Nibbler fish, it can now fish any type of fish within the town's swimming range.
  
• The Chop Shop and Fish Chops have been removed, as they no longer serve any purpose.
  
• The Unbottler now requires Eel-ectricity to function.
  
• Added new specialist: The Farmer.

• Goods have now been split into "Plastic Junk", "Wood Junk" and "Electric Junk". Each have to be recycled in the Recycler for their scrap variant.
  
• Tools have now been split into "Demolition Tools", "Chopping Tools", "Precision Tools", "Power-Tools", "Pumps" and "Ladders". Different tools now unlock different resources from landmarks.
  
• New construction: Power-Tool Maker. This building requires Eel-ectricity to make certain powerful Tools.
  
• Overhauled the Tech Tree.
  
• New construction: Wood Plaza(s). These are wooden Park Variants to introduce decorations earlier in the game.
  
• New decorations: "Simple Decorations". These are decorations made using Plastic and Wood Junk.
  
• Removed Seaweed Spores, Seaweed can now be grown using only Seaweed, similar to other crops.

• You can now directly report bugs in the game by going to the Pause Menu and using the bug-reporting tool.
  
• LoadWindow now displays the path to the saves directory when the explorer button is clicked on any platform other than windows.
  
• Greatly improved the overall performance of the game.
  
• And many more various small improvements and fixes.

Hey Drifters,

Here's a patch fixing various issues!

• Production Limits now only display items for which production can be limited. Currently these are items that are produced.
  
• You can now adjust filter settings on storages as they're being built.
  
• Fixed issue where games wouldn't save because of a broken reference to a seagull.
  
• Fixed issue where walkways that shouldn’t be deconstructable could be marked for deconstruction in Joystick mode.
  
• Fixed issue where opening the energy overlay did not open the Grid Overview Panel.
  
• Fixed issue where items in export inventories were not visible in the town's inventory.
  
• Fixed issue where you could not use the Field's water distribution slider in joystick mode. Also visually updated it for clarity.
  
• Fixed issue where right-clicking to move in Architect Mode would store buildings as well.
  
• Fixed issue where an outline sometimes remained on a building that was no longer selected.
  
• Fixed issue where the deconstruct icon would display above buildings awaiting a drifter during construction.
  
• Fixed issue where the town's boundaries on the map did not update correctly after using Architect Mode.
  
• Fixed issue where buildings could be attached to walkways that had their construction canceled while resources were being hauled, preventing the building from being completed.
  
• Fixed issue where 'Drifter Diets' was missing from the DPAD menu selection.
  
• Fixed issue where tooltips did not appear over some panels.
  
• Fixed issue where the filter panel button in the top inventory bar would not work after using Architect Mode.
  
• Fixed issue where not all expertise points could be spent in the expertise panel when using Joystick.
  
• Fixed issue where drifters kept their diseased particles in the character portraits.
  
• Fixed issue where saving and loading did not persist scouted specialists.
  
• Fixed issue where the Town Tugger was not rotated properly after being moved in Architect Mode.
  
• Fixed issue where an error was thrown when you had a bird that was leaving the town selected.
  
• Fixed issue where the deconstruct icon rapidly switched between deconstruct and error states when storage was full.
  
• Fixed issue where hungry Nibblers would show as hungry Gobblers or Flounders in the Fish Farm.