The Universim - Alex


Hello everyone,
Today at 11am PST join our devs for a review of the new content in Hot Patch V29! We have the new Crime System to show off, including Law Enforcement, Prisons, and Rehabilitation Centers, as well as new additions in the form of Firefighters, Parks, and a completely redesigned Tesla quest. Ask us anything! Let's make it a fun discussion.

Watch Recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO_Eh55uUuI

You can join us here:
https://twitch.tv/crytivo
https://www.youtube.com/user/theuniversim/live

For people who like to read and would like to see everything on paper, we also prepared patch notes, which you can find here: https://crytivo.com/en/news/the-universim-hot-patch-notes-v0-0-29

We hope everyone is having a blasting weekend !

Sincerely,

Crytivo Crew
Nov 5, 2018
The Universim - Alex
Hi everyone,
Today we released a second hotfix that fixes multiple issues that everyone had. Hopefully those fixes will provide you with a little bit more pleasant experience.
Thank you for your support & feedback.

Things that we fixed:

  • Fixed the issue with the Tesla Quest. Previously when you destroyed the battery and failed the quest, you were not able to unlock the battery
  • Fixed the issue when the Tesla Quest was still active and not failed when the construction site was destroyed with lightning strike
  • Fixed the issue when subtitles were displayed on every language despite language missing translation. (Once translation for the subtitles will be ready, it will be added to the game and they will be enabled for those languages)
  • Fixed the issue with Steam Achievements. Previously, steam achievements were not working.
  • Fixed the issue with the grass shaders. Previously grass & flowers shaders were broken and due to that reason, they were creating different artifacts
  • Voting Timer for the evolution tower was not working correctly after evolution tower upgrade.
  • Fixed the issue with the happiness stat. Previously, happiness stat was added before the building is finished, which caused an issue with happiness being stacked.
  • Added 3 languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean

Sincerely,
Crytivo Crew
The Universim - Crytivo
Greetings, Creators!

Patch time! We’ve spent the last month cleaning and optimizing our in-game simulation engine, Prometheus, to give you a far smoother experience, especially at later stages of the game. We have also started preparing the platform for modern age buildings that will start rolling out with the next major patch. We’ll discuss that closer to the time, so stay tuned!

Patch Highlights

NUGGOLA TESLA QUEST

This patch introduces a new mechanic to quests with the addition of the Nuggola Tesla Quest. Previously, quests did not feel rewarding enough. As a result, we added a little something extra to this one to provide a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Successfully completing the quest will reward you with an immediate unlock of the next electricity-related Research Perk. The quest also includes multiple objectives for the first time.



NEW HAPPINESS SYSTEM

We are slowly progressing away from micromanagement to allow for more macro-level interaction. Happiness is the very first step in this direction, as it was previously tied to individual Nuggets. If a Nugget was upset, they would refuse to perform important tasks, which became annoying with so many Nuggets running around.

The new system works on a more macro level, relying on different factors such as: available buildings, current events, and how you use your Creator Powers. You can view how much each building affects Happiness by checking the information in the building’s panel/construction menu. We hope this system leads to a far more enjoyable experience, as we believe it gives you more control over what used to be a slightly unwieldy system.

Happiness is divided into 5 states: Miserable, Unhappy, Indifferent, Happy, and Overjoyed. Each level has a particular status effect associated with it. For example, an overjoyed civilization will have a bonus to research speed, twin birth rates, and Creator Point generation.



SUBTITLES

We have added subtitles to ensure absolutely everyone can enjoy the little tidbits, comments, and advice that the Narrator has to offer. We have added more than 900 lines of subtitles in this patch. Happy reading!




MEDIEVAL WATCHTOWER

The Stone Age Defense Tower finally received a medieval upgrade! It was a little lonely. Watchers will feel a little safer behind the improved walls of the Medieval Watchtower..




MEDIEVAL FISHING HUT

Another upgrade! The Medieval Fishing Hut is here. Too long have Nuggets struggled to fill their tiny boats with fish to feed the hungry masses. Seafood will become more plentiful with the medieval upgrade.




MEDIEVAL SCAFFOLDS

We have added new visual elements to construction sites to improve their overall aesthetic in the Medieval Era. Previously, Nuggets relied solely on rocks and a few sticks when building, but multiple generations of injuries has led to the invention of medieval scaffolding.




SHIFTS

The Governance Perk has received its much-anticipated extension: Shifts. Where Nuggets were once incredibly disorganized, the government has stepped in to offer some order. Nuggets will now be assigned shifts and alternate working times with other Nuggets to improve efficiency. After their shifts, Nuggets will be able to perform all of their daily needs, like eating, recreation, and sleeping. There’s a day and night shift, so have fun deciding who gets which.



EXILE VILLAGE ADDITIONS

Exile Villages have received a bit of love as well. Two new events have been added:

EXILE PRIESTS
EXILE ORATORS

Exile Villages have learned that fighting isn’t always the best solution to their problems, as that involves too much cleanup, so they’ve devised a way to spread chaos within your civilization that does not involve a frontal assault. Once Priests infiltrate your city, they will begin converting your Believers into Non-Believers, which will lead to them leaving to join the Exiles. Keep a watchful eye for Nuggets sneaking into your civilization with robes and staffs.

Orators, on the other hand, are more of a pest than a direct threat. They like to make a lot of noise and rile up your citizens. It isn’t too bad at first, but your civilization’s Happiness will suffer if you don’t get rid of them.

NEW FIRE SYSTEM

Meet Fire 2.0! Our previous system was too performance intensive and brought a whole mess of unforeseen problems. As a result, we completely reworked the fire system to fix these issues and smooth out the rough edges. That means you finally have your Fire Power back! However, it’s deadlier than ever, as it can spread wildly and cause Nuggets to flee in terror (they now react to it!). They will actively avoid fire, as any semi-functional being would, but they may not be able to outrun the hungry fire monster for long. Remember, fire is not a toy, no matter how much fun it is to play with. It can and will destroy your civilization. That probably won’t stop you, though.





PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS

Smooth sailing! A lot of work has been done under-the-hood, which has increased and stabilized the overall frame rate. This will be most noticeable in the late-game, where the frames used to take a magnificent dive off a cliff on certain systems.



Decal system optimized to increase overall frame rate.

Nugget and Animal out-of-view culling improved to reduce CPU usage.

Low-frequency updates of Nuggets and Animals are now spread over multiple frames to smooth out the frame rate.


BUG FIXES
Fixed a bug that allowed players to skip Perks and eventually break the game.

Fixed an issue with tooltips not appearing on upgrade panels.

Fixed an issue where a fresh Exile spawn showed the “became an adult” message.

Fixed an issue with the faith system not ignoring newly exiled Nuggets.

Fixed an AI issue where Hunters would chase prey into water.

Fixed an NRE on load when a construction site was already destroyed but Nuggets still tried to access it for local pathing.

Fixed: Exile deaths showing up in news.

Fixed an NRE with regards to Nugget AI.

Fixed an NRE when Nuggets changing shifts would attempt to access an occupied jobslot (Stone Refinery, Wood Refinery, Hunting Hut).

Fixed an issue with Pre-Medieval Reservoir LOD groups cycling too fast.

Fixed a missing texture for the Mummy Nugget and fishing boat paddles.

Fixed the clear infection quest.

Fixed duplicate Nugget thoughts cluttering panels.

Fixed an issue that prevented players from dropping resources on certain construction sites.

Fixed Nugget list gender icons disappearing when hovering over the row.

Fixed a crash that occurred when loading a game where a Fishing Hut had no water.

Fixed the Nemesis quest.

Fixed resource requirements not matching on the construction popup window.

Fixed an issue where clicking a disaster button would close all panels and open the Forecast panel.

Fixed an issue where the Research window would close when pressing the Construction or Creator Power menu.

Fixed an issue with the Reservoir tip not triggering.

Fixed an issue with the “Little Baby Nugget” narration playing when a child is spawned for the Find My Lost Nugget quest.

Fixed invisible infection zones.

Fixed an issue where Nuggets were getting stuck inside Fishing Huts.

Fixed quests spamming multiple warnings when loading objectives.

Fixed an issue where stamina effects were stacking.

Fixed an NRE with regards to reserved building spots.

Fixed an issue where the Unhappy Icon was displayed above Exile Nuggets’ heads.

Fixed an issue where the second Fisher Nugget was not accounted for in the Fishing Hut.

Fixed an NRE that was caused by tornadoes.

Fixed missing translation for the believer icon.

Fixed NRE with regards to the ghost outline of buildings. Placing a building on uneven surfaces would sometimes cause an NRE.

Fixed an issue where the Eatery would not reduce the number of raw food units while preparing a meal.

Fixed an NRE caused by construction sites.

Fixed multiple missing translations for Exile Villages.

Fixed an issue where Nuggets would fall through mountains.

Fixed an issue where the Kickstarter Creator Power was not adding a boost to Nuggets.

Fixed an issue where some loose resources on the ground were causing an NRE during Save / Load.

Fixed an exception which was caused by multiple stacked stats of different categories.

Fixed an issue where picking up a Nugget being attacked by a wolf would cause a crash.

Fixed an issue where the lightning strike projector was appearing underground.

Fixed an issue with the cloud projector being too high above the ground.

Fixed an issue where some quest messages were not disappearing.

Fixed an issue where the “Press F to fly” message was appearing randomly.

Fixed an issue where construction sites would show a different amount of required resources than the pop-up panel.

Fixed an issue where Nugget fertility timers were not reset after mating (edge case).


GENERAL DESIGN / BALANCE CHANGES
Clicking on the attack message will bring you to the location of the event.

News messages added for newly-established Exile Villages. Clicking on the message will take you to the village.

The Trickle Effect Creator Power now refills oceans & Reservoirs. Changed from 1000 -> 5000.

Reworked Jolt of Joy Creator Power in order to accommodate Happiness changes.


ART
Medieval Fishing Pier building added.

Nugget inventor - Nuggola Tesla added as part of the quest.

Tesla quest items added .

Defense Tower Medieval upgrade added.

Scaffolding upgraded to Medieval Era.

Burned tree models improved.

Halloween decorations added to Epicenter.

Nugget- Orator character with accessories added.

Nugget- Orator unique animations added.

Nugget- Priest with accessories+animations added.

Pumpkins added for the Halloween mood :) .


UI DESIGN:
MainUI: added Happiness indicator alongside the Happiness tooltip.

Added Happiness info to the construction menu construction cloud.

Couriers Hut bug fixed where you couldn’t change the building’s name.

Quest window visual updates. Added support for multiple pages.

God light moved to seasons panel.

Nugget ID card update. Removed Happiness slider since it is now a global value. Added Believer status.

Nugget ID card renaming visuals updated.

Almost all building panels have new renaming visuals.

Archive panel - fixed bug where text would leak out of frame.

Arrest this Nugget button added to Nugget ID panel - disabled for this patch.

Removed Mute Narrator button from main UI

Gas Mine shifts added.

Fishing Pier: fixed shifts container - Nugget slots were outside the panel.

Multiple objective support added to quest windows.

8 research Perks have new icons.

Bug report window added to Esc menu.

Construction menu building cloud happiness icon and value added.

Buildings list panel received an additional upgrade column.

Extended Wiki screen title text.

New Believer Icon.

New Research Icons.

Construction menu update. Added cloud renders for defense tower lvl 2 and Fishing pier lvl 3


MISCELLANEOUS
Dead Nuggets now despawned after some time.

Batteries now retain electricity even without water, but they drain faster in this state.

Added multiple new sounds for buildings and Creator Powers (Gas Plant ambience, Metal Mine ambience, Pump ambience, Wind Turbine ambience, Wind Turbine ambience, Rejuvenate Creator Power sound effect).

Updated Music Controller for better performance.

Refactored Quest triggering system.


KNOWN ISSUES
We will continue to monitor and investigate any Save & Load issues that may occur. The save system is enormously complicated, largely due to it needing to save tens of thousands of procedural objects and simulations. Please note that older save games will not work in the latest version of the game. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but the addition of new features and optimizations will require you to start a new game.

Potential issues with Exile Villages. This is a massive new system that will require further testing and development. Please report any bugs you discover on our forums.

Subtitles may require some adjustment in certain conditions.


As always, thanks for being absolutely amazing! If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for updates and special offers (we never spam). Please leave us your thoughts and comments down below. We hope you love the patch!

All the best,
The Crytivo Crew








Oct 30, 2018
The Universim - Crytivo
Hi Everyone!

Join our Live Stream Now Here starts in a few minutes Ask us questions and learn what's coming to The Universim bam bam bam!

The Universim - Crytivo
GREETINGS, CREATORS!



Welcome to the first of our monthly updates following the big launch on Steam! The team has been working relentlessly to fix the bugs and issues you fine people have kindly reported to us. We appreciate your help!

This patch includes some fundamental elements for a few major systems we’re starting to roll out. If you’ve been following our teasers and showcases, you’ve likely seen some of the cool stuff coming to the game. We will continue releasing patches every month, either on the 1st or the first Tuesday (if the 1st falls on a weekend).


To ensure you never miss an important announcement or news regarding an update, be sure to Sign-up for our newsletter, if you haven’t already.


Patch Highlights


LAWS AND LEADERS

We discussed this system in far more detail in a previous previous blog post, which you can read here. We’re rolling it out in today’s patch! However, please keep in mind that this initial implementation is far from perfect. We will be fixing issues and modifying the design/balance as we go. Here’s a small recap of what it does:

Once the first Leader of your civilization -- Adahy -- dies, your civilization will begin electing new Leaders based on the laws they propose. You can influence the vote by blessing your favorites, as Nuggets may not always choose the best Leader.

Leaders are elected for one seasonal cycle, which is equivalent to 40 minutes of playtime. The laws proposed by the Leader will go into effect and offer various positives or negatives.



We will continue tweaking this system based on your feedback and suggestions. It adds a new level of depth to the game that we believe will make the Nugget civilization appear even more alive and dynamic. If you have some great ideas for laws you’d like to see added to the game, let us know!


EXILE VILLAGES

Over time, non-believers that disagree with the views of their fellow citizens will leave the main city/village and form their own settlements. These settlements will grow as more non-believers leave. You can gain believers by answering their prayers (quests) or performing Creator Powers near witnesses (there shouldn’t be any witnesses if it’s a murder, though).



Aggressive Villages will periodically threaten your civilization with ultimatums

For example, they may demand food or other resources to maintain the peace. If you fail to collect enough in time or outright refuse to comply, the aggression level of the other village will rise. These villages may then attack your civilization when you least expect it.

Aggressive Villages might also raid your village for resources. However, they are quite sneaky, so pay attention to Nuggets exhibiting suspicious behavior. Keep an eye out for any weirdos walking around with a sack full of precious resources.




Neutral Villages will request aid from your civilization during times of need. Refusing to help them will raise their aggression level.

Friendly Villages will also request aid every now and then, but they will repay your kindness by offering gifts of resources if they notice a shortage in your civilization. Hey, what are friends for?

The buildings and appearance of citizens of exile villages will have their own unique colors, which should help you identify intruders.


FORESTATION CREATOR POWER

“When the planet begins to look less green and a lot more grim, consider planting a few trees of your own. Replace what your civilization uses and this world might survive the Nugget infestation after all.”




ELECTRIFY CREATOR POWER

“Pretend you’re an angry, toga-wearing god and toss lightning down from your throne in the clouds. Use this power to punish the unworthy, perform pest control, and generate electricity. However, the last part is known to be a bit risky.”




LUMBERJACK CHANGES

Lumberjacks will no longer be axe-wielding monsters who seek the destruction of trees everywhere; they will now return to deforested zones and plant new trees to ensure a sustainable supply. How splendid!




GRASS

Grass patches have been added to the game. Wait, maybe we should rename this update as the Grass Patch? Either way, move closer to your screen and you should be able to smell the soothing aroma of fresh grass.




UPDATED QUEST AND MESSAGING SYSTEM WINDOW

For a better experience and improved readability, we have updated the Notification/Quest window. We would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’d like to suggest further improvements.




NEW MEDIEVAL ENGINEERS HUT UPDATE

You can now assign up to 3 Engineer Nuggets to the Engineering Building, in addition to an increased zone of influence. It will require electricity to run now, though.




NEW MEDIEVAL WATER PUMP

Further increases water output. It also makes a mean cup of coffee, if you ask nicely.




NEW VO NARRATION ADDED FOR THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS

- Nuggets assigned to work.

- Buildings in a state of disrepair.

- Electricity Generator built.

- Fishing Hut built.

- Water Pumps freezing in winter.

- Gas Plant Built.

- Hunters Hut Built.

- Incorrect usage of Creator Powers.

- News message comments.

- Electricity shortage comments.

- Buildings without Nuggets comments.

- Comments on water shortages.

- When a Nugget sustains an injury.

- Comments on spying on Nuggets during mating.

- Matchmaking quest commentary.

- Name a Nugget quest commentary.

- Backbreaking quest commentary.

- Dead Nugget quest commentary.

- Numerous random thoughts.

- FInd lost Nugget quest commentary.

- Heal a Nugget quest commentary.

- Punish My Nemesis quest commentary.

- Upon Windmill construction.

- Watchtower construction.

- Wolf attack commentary.

- Nuggets getting sick from lakewater commentary.

- Same-sex marriage.

- Research completion commentary.

- Research queued commentary.

A number of these comments are designed as an additional way to notify you of events or issues that you may have missed. Please let us know your thoughts on narration and how we can improve this system in the future.


PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS

- Major performance improvements due to a complete rewrite of the object culling system.

- Available resources checking by Nuggets optimized and improved.

- Save and Load System optimized. No more freezes/hitches when opening the panel.

- Optimized materials/textures used for buildings and villages props.

- General UI optimization.

- Upgrade flags no longer shown on buildings that are already being upgraded or on those that are upgraded automatically.

- Research screen optimized for a more fluid experience.



BUGS AND ISSUES FIXES

- Stagefright: fixed an issue where Nuggets and wolves froze during wolf attacks.

- Bookworm: Research screen optimizations and minor bug fixes.

- Heavenly Fruit: Fixed an issue where dropping fruit on a Farm would cause panel issues.

- Casual Stroll: Nugget movement speeds during storms were way too slow, so we gave them more pep in their step.

- Remembrance: Fixed numerous issues with the save & load system, including saves not loading. Please note that older save files will no longer work with the new system.

- McWhat: Fixed an issue where Mac users were experiencing flashing textures on certain objects.

- Broken Record: Fixed an infinitely-repeating sound effect when certain UI elements were opened.

- Hospital Etiquette: In rare cases, two Nuggets could occupy the same hospital bed. We refuse to discuss the details of what they may have gotten up to, but it should no longer occur.

- Who Put That There: Fixed a bug where Nuggets were dying when walking over stones that were previously picked up by the player.

- Dehydration: Fixed an issue where Nuggets were getting stuck when going to drink.

- Clumsy Mechanic: Fixed an issue where placing a Battery in Creator mode was breaking certain subsystems.

- It’s Been 84 Years: Fixed an issue with long save times or not being able to save at all.

- That Never Happened: Fixed an issue where an active tornado would break the save system.

- Harsh Words: Fixed an issue where certain Narration triggers were bugging the game.

- Ascension: Fixed an issue where dead animals weren’t triggering physics (gravity) properly and would fly upwards instead.

- Lucky Accident: Fixed an issue where the chance for Nuggets to get infected by rotting corpses was not working properly.

- Missed Your Cue: Fixed an error with the Narration trigger for an approaching tornado.

- The Sin of Sloth: Fixed an issue with the Backbreaking quest where Nuggets would refuse to build the hut even after the player delivered the requested resources.

- Pathfinder: Fixed multiple issues with Nugget pathfinding.

- Purple Haze: Fixed an issue where godray textures were appearing as purple on Mac.

- Failure to Launch: Fixed an issue where some Linux and Mac players were not able to play the game (black screen) or experienced horrendous crashes.

- Seasick: Fixed a bug where Fishing Nuggets were getting stuck after loading a game.

- Delayed Forecast: Fixed a bug where Forecaster Nuggets were getting stuck after loading a game.

- Mysterious Stranger: Fixed missing Nugget portraits on Mac

- Unusual Affliction: Fixed a bug where diseased Nuggets were creating weird textures on Mac.

- Frozen in Time: Fixed an issue where the game was not saving while paused.

- Cold Feet: Fixed a bug where the Gravedigger would get stuck while trying to collect a corpse.

- Secret Society: Fixed a bug where Nuggets would remain invisible when leaving Tudor houses.

- Off the Hook: Fixed an issue where the Punish My Nemesis quest wasn’t showing at times.

- Unmarked Grave: Fixed an issue where corpses delivered to the Cemetery by players were not generating gravestones.

- Quarantine Zone: Fixed a bug that caused Nuggets to refuse to occupy certain Tudor houses.

- Nani: Fixed numerous translation issues.

- Seeing Double: Fixed an issue where two Epicenter placement buttons were displayed in Creator Mode.

- Late Bloomer: Fixed an issue with the Healthy Malina Fruit in Farms taking hours to grow.

- Not Open for Business: Fixed a bug where players were able to drop dead Nuggets on Cemetery construction zones.

- What’s Your Name Again: Fixed an issue with Nugget names not displaying correctly in certain quest messages.

- Rough Terrain: Fixed an issue with the radius around buildings being cut short by uneven surfaces.

- Fixed the issue when Fishing Hut research could have been skipped

- Fixed the issue when Metal Mine was not being unlocked by Geology research

- Fixed the issue when Gas Mine was not unlocked by Mining research

- Fixed multiple issues with quests text

- Fixed multiple missing tooltips

- Fixed multiple sound issues with the failing state of the quests

- Fixed missing Archivist thought while working



GENERAL BALANCE CHANGES


- The Farm quest is no longer triggered during winter.

- Increased the amount of wood one tree gives from 2 to 3.

- Players will now receive Creator Points upon accepting a quest to ensure they can actually complete them.

- Defense tower max working range changed from 20 to 25

- Defense tower accuracy changed from 70% to 85%

- Temple water consumption was removed

- Medieval Cemetery water consumption added

- Stone age water reservoir capacity increased from 10000 to 30000

- Pre medieval reservoir capacity increased from 25000 to 45000

- Medieval reservoir capacity increased from 25000 to 60000

- Rebalanced tornado

- Disasters rebalanced



ART

- Gas Pile has a new texture: yellow-purple.

- Medieval Water Pump has been implemented.

- Engineering Buildings have been upgraded to the Medieval Era.

- Five new Exile Village houses have been added.

- Exile Village Epicenters have been implemented.



UI DESIGN

- Electricity generation building panels: fixed the Battery info text locations to be more intuitive.

- Wiki screen: fixed missing localization.

- Improved tooltip font sizes.

- Updated status icons for buildings not working.

- Implemented the new Election Panel when clicking on the Evolution Tower.

- Evolution Tower: new status icon progress for elections.

- “Leader died” election banner implemented.

- “Election started” banner implemented + new animation.

- “Election ended” banner implemented + new animation.

- New quest panel design with text split into pages.

- Fixed a bug where baby traits were in the incorrect section of the Nugget ID panel.

- Fixed a bug where a spouse’s name was too long. Rearranged a few elements in the Nugget ID panel.

- Warehouse panel: fixed missing name.

- Main Menu: fixed missing animation for Locked Creator Mode.

- Nugget ID card: updated the renaming box visuals.

- Forestation Creator Power UI implemented.

- Main Menu: sign-up form implemented.

- Building list panel: added a new column for building upgrades.

- Exile Village Panel implemented.

- Exile Village Nugget ID cards implemented.

- Nugget ID card: added believer icon indicator.

- New Panel added for the Temple building.

- New icon for Lightning Strike god power.

- New icon for Forestation god power.

- Laws have new individual icons.



MISCELLANEOUS

- Now when the question mark is clicked on supported UI elements, players will be redirected to the related Wiki page.

- Skip opening scene countdown timer added.



KNOWN ISSUES

- We will continue to monitor and investigate any Save & Load issues that may occur. The save system is enormously complicated, largely due to it needing to save tens of thousands of procedural objects and simulations. Please note that older save games will not work in the latest version of the game. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but the addition of these new features and optimizations will require you to start a new game.

- Potential issues with Exile Villages. This is a massive new system that will require further testing and development. Please report any bugs you discover on our forums.


Thanks for being so awesome! Don’t forget to Sign-up for updates to never miss an announcement or special news (we never spam). We will be diving right back into development to bring you many more exciting updates. Please leave us your thoughts and comments down below. We hope you love the patch!


All the best,
The Crytivo Crew









Sep 17, 2018
The Universim - Crytivo


Crime is inescapable. As your civilization advances, Nuggets will continue to evolve their way of thinking, giving them more individuality and free thought. However, a consequence of this is the birth of criminals who go against the flow of society. You can’t prevent it, but you can minimize it. Here are a few things that may increase crime rates: a lack of Schools, too much pollution, the introduction of certain laws, and a lack of utilities (no water, electricity, or so on for a long period of time).



Once the Law Enforcement Station is constructed, it’ll reveal how many criminals are running rampant in your city. However, there will be no easy way to distinguish these individuals until they commit a crime. The severity of crimes is entirely dependent on the overall Crime Level in your civilization. You can try and take things into your own hands by selecting suspicious Nugget to be arrested and interrogated, either in Prison or a Rehabilitation Center. Arresting an innocent Nugget will lead to a general decrease in Happiness, though. Nuggets despise injustice and will be very vocal about it.



Assigning Law Enforcement Officers can lead to a significant decrease in criminal activity, but adding too many officers will make Nuggets feel oppressed and controlled. The more officers you have, the more unhappy they may become.

Crime Levels
  • Very Low
  • Low
  • Moderate
  • High - Creates Dangerous Criminals
  • Very High - Creates Dangerous Criminals

Each level will also change how often criminals are spawned.

Types of Criminals

Thug - Vandalism and thievery.
Dangerous Criminal - Terrorists who constantly seek to harm the civilization and their fellow Nuggets. They can destroy food supplies, poison Wells, or even create large explosions to destroy buildings and nearby Nuggets.

Criminals have individual skill levels, with every successful crime increasing this level. As they level up, they become more difficult to catch. They will be smarter and more calculated with how they perform their crimes, making them less suspicious to Law Enforcers. Criminals perform a certain animation every now and then when doing something illegal. These animations are longer and more noticeable with low-level criminals.

These animations give you a chance to spot criminals while you’re surveying the civilization. You can then have these criminals arrested by marking them in their ID cards (remember, arresting innocents will drop Happiness and possibly make you lose Believers, so be careful). Law Enforcers will also notice criminals, if they perform these actions within range of an officer. Law Enforcement Officers are very suspicious, which leads them to take pre-emptive action and arrest certain citizens they believe might be criminals (criminal profiling). Only 20% actually turn out to be criminals on average, meaning that only 2 in 10 arrested Nuggets will be criminals. This is why general Happiness may be affected. You can control the arrest rate by lowering the amount of officers, but that can increase overall criminal activity. It’s a tricky balance.



Prisons have plenty of cells to hold suspected Nuggets to increase the likelihood of catching criminals before a crime is committed. Interrogation takes a certain amount of time. Upon completion, the Nugget is either released, executed, or placed in a Rehabilitation Center, based on your preferences (indicated by your research choices). Executions are brutal, but they will generate enough fear to lower crime levels for a while.



Effects on Crime

Increases
  • No Schools
  • Low Happiness
  • No Law Enforcement Stations
  • Certain Research Perks
  • Certain Laws
  • Unnatural Nugget Death/Nugget Sacrifices
  • Buildings with high pollution levels
  • No Rehabilitation Centers

    Decrease
  • Schools
  • High Happiness
  • Law Enforcement Stations
  • Certain Research Perks
  • Certain Laws
  • Prison

We will be putting this system into full production next month, which means we'll hopefully have it ready in a month or two. Remember that the design isn't finalized and everything may change depending on how it plays. We would also love to hear your thoughts on the system, including anything you'd like to see added to make it even better. Like most things in the game, you'll have the power to intervene or allow your Nuggets to catch criminals on their own.

Don't forget to Sign Up for news to never miss an update and receive early testing invites. Join our Discord server to discuss the game with the community and offer feedback.



❤ Crytivo
The Universim - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Fraser Brown)

Premature Evaluation is the weekly column in which we explore the wilds of early access. This week, Fraser has donned the mantle of deity in The Universim. It s a god sim with more than a hint of Spore and good old Populous. >

The big bang starts with a click. From that press of a button a brand new cosmos springs to life – a huge galactic stage full of worlds and civilizations for you to manage. At some point in the future. Now, though, The Universim s attractive galaxy is a backdrop for a single, randomly-generated, Earth-like diorama. Those opening moments hint at its grand ambitions, of space travel and alien planets, before returning somewhere more familiar.

(more…)

The Universim - Alex
Hello Everyone,
Today we merged an experimental branch to the main branch due to seeing some positive feedback about that branch. Just as a recap we would like to include the full list of issues that were fixed on experimental and now applied to main:

- Tornado NRE's (Null Reference Exceptions) fixed
- Fixed issue when nuggets would freeze when Fishing Hut was placed
- Added missing Steam DLL for Linux
- Fixed multiple save & load issues
- Fixed Save & Load issue during a Tornado
- Fixed the “Fly To” message not disappearing
- Fixed Healthy Malina Timer. It was not set correctly
- Crop Timer adjusted on certain crops
- Happiness decrease adjusted
- Added a message to the intro scene on how to skip the intro
- Shortened the number values for water & electricity.
- Fixed an issue with the Kinetic Generator’s UI slider being displayed incorrectly
- Removed a non-existent language from the database (fix for “missing translation” issue)
- Added a number of new tips to the game
- Fixed multiple sound issues (further testing will be performed to ensure sound issues are resolved)
- Lumberjack was not working correctly
- Issue where nuggets would stand still and do nothing
- Looping sound issue
- Issue where music was cut during the play
- Geology did not unlock metal mine
- Mining did not unlock Gas Mine
- Smoke particles optimization
- Bodies that were dropped into the cemetery manually were not always registered
- UI Optimization
-Fixed an issue where rocks/trees that landed not properly considered to be in the air and killed the nuggets that were passing by.

Sincerely,
Crytivo Crew
Counter-Strike 2 - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (John Walker)

I imagine in direct response to all my moaning insightful criticism, everyone in the world has upped their game and started buying some more interesting games from Steam. Such that this week’s Steam Charts, with an extraordinary four new entries, barely resembles those of the last couple of months! Hurrah! And you clickbait won’t believe clickbait where Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds falls this week! CLICKBAIT!

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The Universim - Alex
Hello everyone,
Thank you a lot for your patience and your support. We know that the last couple of days were pretty rough for you due to save issue. We apologize for that. Currently, experimental branch should not have the save issue anymore. Along with the save issue, with that hot fix we also fixed:
- Lumberjack was not working correctly
- Save issue
- Issue where nuggets would stand still and do nothing
- Looping sound issue
- Geology did not unlock metal mine
- Mining did not unlock Gas Mine
- Smoke particles optimization
- Bodies that were dropped into the cemetery manually were not always registered
- UI Optimization

Hopefully the issue with the save won't appear again.
Please leave your feedback about the changes in the experimental branch. If major issues are resolved there, it will be moved on a main branch.

Thank you again for your patience and help. You guys just an awesome community!

Guide how to switch to the experimental branch: https://steamcommunity.com/games/352720/announcements/detail/1692679423636146620

Sincerely,
Crytivo Crew
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