Hey everyone! Today, the Stonehearth team is proud to announce the arrival of Stonehearth ACE, the Authorized Community Expansion (Pre-Release version 0.9). Helmed by Dani Angione, this intrepid group of community modders have added some truly magnificent features to the game, including but not limited to:

• A brand new Highlands Biome
  
• Farming and irrigation (yes, at last a use for water!)
  
• Water gates and pumps, made by the Engineer
  
• A fuel economy adds gameplay depth to firepits, ovens and more
  
• An overhaul of the Blacksmith class
  
• Updates to nearly every other class and a number of new recipes
  
• Fish and algae
  
• Military gear progression overhaul
  
• A better patrolling system
  
• A training option for combat classes
  
• Ways to specify equipment preferences for combat classes
  
• Locking mechanisms for doors
  
• New heatmaps for wilderness and ore veins
  
• Unique workshops and outfits for each kingdom
  
• Special critters and plants for each biome
  
• ...and a lot of other things!

For a full set of ACE's features and release notes, see this post.

Great so how do I get ACE?

If you’re playing on Steam, the game automatically subscribes you to the ACE mod the first time you open Stonehearth 1.1. The mod will then automatically download itself either the first time you go to the mods screen from the main page, or the next time you exit and reload the game. Once the mod is downloaded, you’ll then get a popup asking if you’d like to enable ACE. If you choose to opt in, your next new game will see the new features described above. If you choose to opt out, the game will play as it always has. Thereafter, you can turn the mod off or on again from a new UI widget directly on the main screen of the game.

Pre-Release 0.9, you say? What does that mean?
Pre-Release means that this is ACE’s initial release! After this update, the ACE team has a number of other additions planned, so keep an eye out for more updates. You can find out more about their roadmap and planned future features here.

Pre-Release also means this mod is in active development, and so may introduce additional bugs and performance issues, such as game lag, hitching, stuttering, and slow loading times. To minimize issues in this early phase, play on normal speed and with a modest number of hearthlings. The build may also conflict with some existing mods. To report issues and potential mod conflicts, hit up the ACE discourse thread here.

All this said, Team Stonehearth is really excited. Ever since the beginning, we hoped that Stonehearth would be a place where we could all contribute our modules and stories. With this release, we thank everyone that has brought life to the mods on Workshop, and we look forward to playing with you all in this world we’ve created together for years to come.

FAQ:

Help! I’ve opened 1.1 and I still don’t see ACE or the popup or the new UI to enable the mod! What should I do?
If you’re playing on Steam, try exiting the game, waiting for a bit so the mod can download, and starting it up again. Alternatively, go to the mods page from the main screen, let the mod download, and then save and quit to main menu. The mod can only download when the game is being loaded or on the mods page, so if you don’t see it, it’s because you’ve already subscribed, but haven’t downloaded it yet.

I want to turn ACE on or off! How do I do that?
After ACE has downloaded, there will be a toggle on the main UI screen. The wallpaper will toggle too, so it’s super clear whether you’re playing ACE or vanilla Stonehearth.

I have other ACE related questions!
Find ACE’s amazing developers on discourse.stonehearth.net at this thread.

One more update for a couple of bug fixes that didn’t quite make it into the 1.1 release.

• Fixed performance issues that resulted in lag spikes in the “topology” category of the perf bar.
• Improved game performance when building large structures with complicated color patterns.
• Fixed bed ownership UI not sorting the owner to the top in certain cases.
• Fixed default game templates not showing up in the building UI template list.
• Fixed infinite inventory option not appearing in the Settings menu.
• Fixed load game popup screens not closing when you hit the escape key.

⚠️ For modders: See the full list of changed files here.

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

The Ultimate Stonehearth Creative Bundle is now available on our store page. Immerse yourself in more than 3 1/2 hours of Stonehearth's awesome soundtrack; boggle at 50+ pages of concept art, sketches, and other visual treats from the game's development; and get a great digital poster suitable for sitting on your desktop forever and ever. Get yours now!

Hey everyone! Welcome back for one last official update to the main Stonehearth game! This year, right in time for the holidays, we celebrate you--five years of the amazing community we’ve come to know and love. Fueled by gratitude for all the things you’ve done and built in Hearth, we’ve packed the following things into our last major release, Stonehearth 1.1:

The game runs better than ever! We’ve fixed a number of crashing bugs, optimized a wide variety of services and fixed a last few critical building bugs that have been getting your hearthlings stumped and stuck.

Though not exactly a performance fix, crafters now also no longer get stuck forever on items they do not have ingredients for, and for those of you too impatient to wait out the 30 Hearth days it takes for a town to build a cathedral (no time at all, really, compared to the real thing),

InstaBuild now works for all building templates made in the new builder.

The game now runs on OSX! The game is available now on Steam for Mac users, and a Humble Bundle version is in the works.

Are you wondering how the game will run on your mac? The good news is that it should run reasonably well, at least on the lowest of graphics settings.

Minimum Spec: (Works for about 20 hearthlings, and lowest graphics settings)

OS: macOS 10.11 (El Capitan)
Processor: Intel Core i5 1.7GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon HD 5870 or GeForce 630, or Intel HD Graphics 4000
Hard Drive: 2GB available space

Recommended Spec: (Works for about 40 hearthlings, and good graphics settings! Minimum recommended for hosting a multiplayer server.)

OS: macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later
Processor: Intel Core i7 2.8 GHz+
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M or better
Hard Drive: SSD, 5GB available space

What do those traveling merchants do between being called to shops? Thanks to some work from our summer intern, instead of just brief visits to your town, travelers will spend the day exploring your town, admiring the decorations and attractions around the city, buying items from your Market Trading Shelves, and resting in your designated traveler beds. Satisfied travelers may even leave a gift as compensation for a good stay!

Travelers will begin to consider visiting your town once you have at least one bed Reserved for Travelers, which you can do from the bed assignment menu. They can arrive in the morning or evening, and the number of visitors you get is limited by the number of beds and attractions that you have in your town. Attractions are placed items that include things like hearths, banners, benches, rugs, fountains, trading shelves, and various decorations. The value of the traveler’s gift is based on the city tier and the traveler's satisfaction, which is based on their appeal score after being in the town plus the quality of the bed they slept on. Higher satisfaction yields better gifts.

Also, on the subject of merchants and shops, Clan Amberstone’s cricket golems are super useful! It is now possible to get them earlier in the game through an encounter.

As part of our Kickstarter promise to our Legend Tier backers, we’ve added two new encounters to the game that were designed based on their input: a visit from the Royals of Hestia, and an encounter with The Dragonborn King. These encounters have a rare chance of occuring after your town hits Tier 2.

Sometimes, despite the best plans of players and hearthlings, hearthlings just get stuck while building, or in pits while mining. If a hearthling is stuck in a place where they have no access to food and are in danger of starving to death, you will now get a notification so you know about the problem and can unstick them. Usually building a ladder is sufficient but if they’re in a really bad state or are stuck in a wall or on top of a weird shaped piece of furniture, we’ve added a very handy hearthling teleport button, which  you can find in the upper right section of the Character Sheet UI. You can use this button once per day per character. It is only clickable when a citizen is idle, to minimize conflicts with other AI routines.

Have you ever wanted to make a mod for Stonehearth? We now have an in-depth Modding Guide! Created by Ana/Relyss, available here.

We also made a number of changes to the game to allow modders greater control. For example, we’ve added the ability for modders to specify mod dependencies (loading order), we switched crafting from work units to effort, changed a number of data fields to mod-friendly arrays, and improved mod loading speeds by zipping mods as they’re being uploaded to Steam Workshop, for faster launch and loading screens in game. We’ve also updated SHED to work with mods that were created in the steam_uploads folder, so that modders can use this modding tool with greater ease.

Note to Modders: Here are the list of changes since the last unstable release.

• Fixes for various crashes
• Notification when you hit 20 citizens, and max citizens
• New desert specific plants and animals

But wait, there’s more! :) This isn’t the end of the road for Stonehearth. A number of hard working community modders are creating Stonehearth ACE. Look for more updates on this and few more extras in the weeks to come. :)

We thank you, truly and deeply, for your years of support. It has meant everything.

Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the water feature comes the end of our fellowship in Hearth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.

This contains fixes for some regressions that were introduced in yesterday’s build. It also contains a UI performance fix related to templates.

• Fixed a UI performance issue that would occur when you have a lot of building templates.
• Fixed the desert wolves’ floating ears.
• Fixed a UI error in the Glory Hearth Upgrade quest dialog.
• Fixed an error caused by a nil argument in job_component.
• Fixed invalid reference to northern alliance kingdom in dreams.json.
• Fixed the confirm dialog still showing up when a player who doesn’t own a building clicks on the destroy button.

• Added a button on the mods screen that opens up the modding guide in the Steam browser overlay.
• Fixed an error that would show up in the chrome developer console due to missing sounds.

⚠️ For modders: See the full list of changed files here.

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

In this update, we bring you more bug fixes and a bunch of modder support changes!

• Fixed a bug where stockpiles could not be placed where building fixtures used to be located.
• Fixed rows getting duplicated in the citizens menu when a new citizen joins after you've just sorted the rows.
• Fixed travelers leaving their gifts at unreachable locations when the bed they slept on was in a building.
• Reduced volume of combat music a bit
• Localized "Weapons" category title in the Weaver workshop menu.
• Fixed cursor not being stylized when hovering over radio buttons.
• Converted remaining weapons iconics into 10x10x10 voxels so they match others.
• Tweaked offset of Long and Two Handed Swords so that they are centered.
• Fixed extra minus '-' sign showing up for buffs with negative modifiers.
• Fixed max citizen notification showing up when you embark with re-embarkation citizens.
• Updated various logs so that they each have unique pictures. Update stack size of pine log to be consistent with other logs.

• Changed the values for “roles” and “material tags” in our json files from strings to arrays.
• Allow modders to provide a custom “base_job” inside the jobs index file instead of the default “stonehearth:jobs:worker”
• Add a descriptive log instead of throwing an exception when a json value’s type doesn’t match the one for the mixin/mixinto’s value.
• Allow modders to easily create their own services in their server/client_init_script(s), using the service_creator library. See the code stonehearth_tests_server/client.lua for an example of how to this.
• Move the list of stonehearth server/client services to constants.json so that it is easier to modify.
• Added the ability to specify a different eat animation in the food serving files (e.g. a drinking animation).
• Added css classes to the loadout_screen, select_roster, select_settlement screens based on biome and kingdom selected. Makes it easier to customize the look of the starting screens through mods.
• Made changes that allows custom colors and custom names for the minimap tiles, set from the biome json.
• Allow modders to specify a custom starter firepits (hearth) from the population json file
• Allows, through the biome.json, to set the water level to something different than the default 1.5 blocks down from the margin
• Moved settlement radius to constants.json
• Made tree color on the map selector page customizable through mods.
• Allow evolve component to take a table as input and randomly select a uri to evolve to
• Added the modding guide (only essentials and basic) to the docs folder of the stonehearth mod.
• Shipped microworld, stonehearth_tests, stonehearth_autotest, and autotest_framework with the game. You can use these mods to run small tests and autotests. See microworld for a description of how to run a micro world.

⚠️ Note to modders: We’ve changed material_tags and roles from strings to arrays, so you may need to update your mod to use arrays for compatibility. See the full list of changed files here.

Another special thanks to BrunoSupremo for helping us implement several of the modding changes!

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

We’re getting close to our 1.1 release, so in this update we’re wrapping up some critical bugs, and bringing you several more quality of life improvements and small features.

Bugfixes and improvements

• As a part of our Kickstarter promise to our Legend Tier backers, we’ve also added two new encounters to the game that were designed based on their input: the Hestia and Dragonborn encounters. Players can unlock these encounters at Tier 2. Note that they have a rare chance of occuring.
• Added the ability for players to emergency-unstick (teleport) your citizens a short distance when they get stuck (in buildings, on top of tall furniture, etc). This command can be found near the top-right of the Character Sheet UI and can be used once a day when a citizen is idle.
• Some performance improvements on lua consumption
• Fixed a crash that would occur when a player with Steam enabled would try to join a multiplayer game that wasn’t hosted through Steam.
• Fixed a crash that would happen when you have citizens that are away from town
• Fixed a crash that would happen when reading an invalid user_settings.json file
• Added desert skins to most creatures for the desert biome
• Added the ability to get cricket golems earlier in the game, through an encounter
• Added a notification that shows up when you hit the max citizens cap
• Fixed Legendary equipment not getting sorted in stockpiles correctly
• Fixed the Steam workshop link buttons not working on mod sync page when joining a multiplayer game
• Added combat talismans to shops in tier 2 (chance) and tier 3 (guaranteed)
• Fixed Sun and Moon landmarks not being placeable
• Added entlings to the Desert and Arctic biomes
• Fixed an issue with fox pelts
• Slightly adjusted rate of the type of shops that arrive in town (less likely to get pet shops at low town level, more likely to get shops with basic resources)
• Added Weavers House template to Ascendency (unlocks when you have a Weaver)
• Updated Carpenters House template for Ascendency to have input/output bins
• Reordered NA loadouts (because 'food for days' is definitely hard mode)
• Adjusted prices for crafted items overall as a part of the Effort Refactor
• Quivers now sort as “weapons” in the Weaver’s recipes list.
• Ladders can be removed using the undeploy hotkey
• Goldthread outfit now properly locked behind Tier 3 reward of Shrine (oops)
• Fixed reversed rotation hotkeys for placing building templates
• Fixed Giant skeletons being called Zombies
• Added option to skip dialog on banner/hearth choice.

Modder Support

• Update SHED submodule head to include latest changes: support for steam_uploads folder and various fixes
• Sorted most sections of the manifest so that it’s easier to find and read through alias names
• Added the ability to create landmarks using the create_camp encounter
• Added an encounter script that allows you to add traits

⚠️ For modders: See the full list of changed files here.

 

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

We have some more bug fixes and quality of life improvements for you in this release!

Bugfixes and Improvements

• Instabuild should now work for all structures.
• Fixed crafters getting stuck forever on an in-progress recipe that they no longer have the ingredients for.
• Fixed zoom-to-entity sometimes not zooming in correctly.
• Converted recipes to use Effort instead of Work Units. This should make it easier for modders to decide how long it takes to craft something (1 Effort = 1 Game Minute), but most players should not notice a difference. There were slight decreases in early crafting recipe times and slight increases in later crafting ones, and the largest benefit is that some really incorrect values were caught and fixed. A citizen’s mood and grogginess will also now affect how fast/slow they craft.
• Fixed herbalist workshop crafting UI button using the carpenter saw icon.
• Updating the artwork for the herbalist workshop's craft button.
• Added a notification for citizens that cannot find food
• Fixed wolves being able to walk out of the wolf cage in the goblin campaign encounter

Modder Support

• Fixed character sheet not checking whether the material is a string or array
• ⚠️ Added ability to specify what mods that your mod should be loaded after. See the Dependencies section of the modding guide for details on how specify these dependencies.
• ⚠️Mods that you upload to Steam through the Mods Menu will now be automatically zipped before being sent to Steam Workshop. This is to improve game startup speed for players who have many mods and/or large mods. Building templates mods won't be compressed when uploading them, so that players can still see their images in the Mods menu.
• Updated the Basic section of the modding guide.

⚠️ For modders: See the full list of changed files here.

🍏 For Mac players: An update has gone out for the mac version on the ‘macos’ branch. The password for this branch is ‘perseverance’. Feedback & testing would be super appreciated! Instructions in this thread.

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

This update brings several bug fixes, modder support changes, and quality-of-life improvements we’ve made over the past few months from Unstable onto the Stable branch. Also, players on the Stable branch can now benefit from the latest performance improvements that have been already tested in the Unstable branch, as we continue working towards the 1.1 release.

For a detailed list of changes since the previous stable release, you can read the changelog for each unstable release since the last stable version: r898,r898-hotfix, r905, r905-hotfix.

In addition to the changes mentioned above, this release also includes the following modder support changes:

• Fixed character sheet not checking whether the material is a string or array
• ⚠️ Mods that you upload to Steam through the Mods Menu will now be automatically zipped before being sent to Steam Workshop. This is to improve game startup speed for players who have many mods and/or large mods. Building templates mods won't be compressed when uploading them, so that players can still see their images in the Mods menu.
• Updated the Basic section of the modding guide.

This version is save compatible with saves from Stonehearth 1.0, so feel free to continue playing your existing saves!

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth

(AKA: The Return of the Return of Candledark Returns!)

Can you feel it in the air? The undead seek to add more to their numbers yet again this time of year. You guessed it -- we’ve updated Candledark so it is now compatible with the latest version of Stonehearth. (Note: this is the mod last released in 2016 and has been updated to work with latest, though there is no new content.)

Thanks again to community modder Froggy for creating this awesome holiday mod.

To play Candledark you must be on the latest version of Unstable or Stable (r907 or r906).

Here’s how to play:

If you’ve installed Stonehearth using Steam

* Make sure Steam has updated your game at least version r906. When you start the game, click the About button and check that the version is up-to-date.
* Subscribe to the Candledark III mod here: Candledark III on Steam Workshop
* Restart Stonehearth and enjoy Candledark! (As noted, you can start a new game or load an existing save.)

If you’ve installed Stonehearth using the Windows installer or .zip file

* Download candledark.smod here: candledark smod
* Put candledark.smod in the “mods” sub-folder of your Stonehearth folder
* Restart Stonehearth and enjoy Candledark! (As noted, you can start a new game or load an existing save.)

Have fun!
Team Stonehearth