Ahoy Pathfinders!

Trade Functionality is finally here, and with it a Wipe for a fresh new start! To kick things off with a surprise, we will be having 3x Harvest Rates now until next Tuesday!

Now that it’s almost all together, let’s review how the Trade System functions. The Trade system is intended as a means to get resources flowing across the map, facilitating competition over resources and the access to trade. Every grid has 1-4 Sea Forts that act as control points which give players access to Trade Routes that let players connect what they are producing with what others are, establishing Trades in an automated fashion:

All trading is automated - the Market will look at your configurations, and check the Warehouses of connected Markets to see if Trade conditions are fulfilled. If the conditions are met, a Trade Ship will be automatically created and set to embark on its destination. Players do not necessarily need to control a Sea Fort to be able to be able trade. However blockading Trade routes is possible if a Company controls all the Sea Forts on a server that route must go through. Companies that control Sea Forts may also tax Trade Ships that pass through its server, although Trade Ships will always choose to use the Sea Fort with the lower tax rate.

Remember that at this stage, all Trades will be virtual, so any Trade that is started will reach its destination Market. Testing is still ongoing on the NPC Trade Ships that will eventually carry the goods. Now’s the perfect time to take advantage of these guaranteed Trades to get the gold rolling in and the economy moving! Although players won’t be able to attack your Shipments for now, you will still want to pay attention to the Random Events that may occur! You never know what you will end up getting… or losing. However, the chance of higher spoils may make the Trade more than worth while! All Random events are virtual and are resolved upon completion of the Trade.

With the Trade Functionality and the ability to gain income from it now in place, the dynamics of the gameplay will start to shift, as will progression and the balancing surrounding it. The economy of the game will be centered around the Trade System. Although the other ways to obtain gold remain, utilizing the Trade System will be the primary way to earn income, whether you are actively Trading, controlling Sea Forts, raiding Sea Forts, or later - attacking ships.

There was a lot of noise surrounding the increase in gold cost to build higher tier ships and its pay-off. The introduction of the Trade System is meant to shake things up with the current state of play. We are not balancing our changes surrounding what was previously established and these new conditions in play should endeavor players to new strategies. As we mentioned, we are starting with very conservative numbers with this first pass of the Trade System and will be making adjustments as needed. Future mechanics or changes to ATLAS may continue to change up the gameplay and progression in the game as well. We are striving to find a balance for good and varying gameplay at all levels. We know that we are not there yet and it is important to stress that we are still in the middle of defining and refining the core gameplay and mechanics, so sometimes the waters are going to be pretty rough.

Although Trade Functionality has made it, we still need to fully implement the rest of the system. As we previously mentioned, the NPC Trade Ships that players will be able to interact with are still undergoing development and testing. Next week will likely be a smaller maintenance update consisting of some fixes and any balancing adjustments if we see fit.

The new Ships for Gold system is also on the way, and the first release of it will see the Ramming Galley hitting the shores… or more likely hitting your ships. Other specialized ships are also in the works. These new Ships will utilize a modular building system and exist alongside the current Ship system.

Lastly, the other big goal we have for the remainder of the year is an overhaul of the Claiming system. We aren’t quite happy with the Island Claiming system and how it’s currently functioning. We will be reworking the Claim system based off of laying down individual claim flags in an area again. However, we are looking to take it into a different direction. We are still in the early stages of the design and fleshing out our ideas. As we get closer to making this change, we will bring it to further discussion.

In summary, players can expect the completed Trade System, an introduction to the New Ship System, and a rework on the Claiming System. Again, all three of these items will continue to be tweaked and balanced. We are continuously shaping the game! This is also only what’s immediately on the table, and there is still more to come in 2021! Please stay tuned. :)

v514.3

• Connected trade routes will now automatically trade between each other
  
  • Every few minutes a Market will look for a potential trade
    
    • Prioritizes Trade Routes in order
      
    • Prioritizes Trade Offers in order
  • When both Markets in a Trade Route have compatible Offers, a Trade is initiated
    
    • Example:
      
      • Market A and B have a Trade Route
        
      • Market A offers 1 Lightwood for every 2.0 Thatch
        
      • Market B offers 1 Root for every 0.4 Wood
        
      • If Market A tries to find a trade, they can find one for 1 Lightwood for every 2.25 Thatch
        
      • If both Warehouses have enough resources, the shipment is created.
  • Trade Offers remain active after use, and can be part of more trades as long as there are enough resources in the Warehouse
    
  • Currently all shipments are virtual and do not generate Trading Ships that can be attacked. (This is in testing and iteration and expected in a later patch)

• Reduced the output of crafting Gunpowder from 2 to 1
  
• Reduced the output of crafting Blasting Powder from 2 to 1

• Updated the Structure Settings on the Market to be Reinforced Stone
  
  • This gives Markets increased damage resistance
• Bug Fix: Added back the ability to connect Markets to Warehouses via interaction wheel (they should still auto connect if placed near each other)

• Adjusted weight of many resources
  
  • Reduced the weight of Gold Coins by 50%
    
  • Reduced the weight of Gems by 75%
    
  • Reduced the weight of Wood by 40%
    
  • Reduced the weight of Sap by 60%
    
  • Reduced the weight of Crystals by 60%
    
  • Reduced the weight of Metal by 33%
    
  • Increased the weight of Oil by 2x
    
  • Increased the weight of Fiber by 8x
    
  • Increased the weight of Flint by 2.4x
    
  • Increased the weight of Keratanoid by 5x
    
  • Increased the weight of Gunpowder by 1.5x
    
  • Increased the weight of Organic Paste by 2x
    
  • Increased the weight of Fire Gel by 2.5x
    
  • Increased the weight of Blasting Powder by 2.5x

• Reduced the radius inside Sea Forts for claiming from 2.5 to 1.5 meters
  
• Increased Max Tax rate for Sea Forts from 30% to 50%
  
• Sea Forts added to D8
  
• Sea Fort Taxes can now be set via 10% stepped increments in a Set Tax Wheel Submenu
  
• Sea Fort structures no longer respawn when an enemy is nearby

• Increased Gold cost for crafting ships
  
  • Schooner: 50 Gold → 5,000 Gold
    
  • Brigantine: 250 Gold → 25,000 Gold
    
  • Galleon: 500 Gold → 50,000 Gold

• Reduced Placement Prevention Radius of Warehouse from 800m to 600m
  
  • This increases amount of warehouses that can fit in an area by about 75%
    
  • We're looking at how to best allow multiple companies to have warehouses nearby in the future
• Reduced Transport Radius of Warehouse from 500m to 450m

• Increased the max stack size of Cannon Balls from 50 to 100
  
• Bug Fix: Explosive Barrels can no longer deal damage in Freeports
  
• Bug Fix: Stack size for Fuel items in Warehouse and Farmhouse inventory is no longer affected by the Fuel Slot stack size

• If you create a trade offer and then edit its resources, the Market UI doesn't update and may be out of sync with what's actually there
  
• Resources awarded by Trade Events may not be delivered or logged correctly
  
• Trade Log may incorrectly state which resource types are sent and received
  
• Trade Route income should be multiplied by the Trade Route's distance
  
• Editing the Tax Rate on Sea Forts requires you to manually exit the interaction wheel
  
• No feedback is given when a Market doesn't have a valid Warehouse to connect to

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Last Saturday we discussed our progress on addressing the map flickering and PVE Sea Fort claiming issues from the last patch, and although we aimed to get the hotfix out on Tuesday, we ended up being able to integrate these fixes with an early release of the new Markets! This new build is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday at 7:00 PM PST!

Again, the actual Trading will not be available quite yet in this Market patch as we are still actively testing its functionality and mechanics. Players will be able to craft a Market at a Smithy as long as they have the required Advanced Automation skill from the Construction tree. For now, you savvy seafarers can check out the configurations and set up preferences. Please let us know your feedback on how the Market UI functions.

Our crew craftsman has made a few renovations on the Sea Forts, but the construction is still ongoing! Pirates with an eye for aesthetics can expect further design improvements down the line. Additionally, Sea Forts now also display owner and tax rate. A number of balance passes have been made as well as we continue to observe the gameplay surrounding it.

Early next week, we are expecting to release the third part of the Trade System which will introduce the actual Trading functionality. In order to implement this, a wipe will be required. Currently, this is scheduled for next Tuesday, November 10. For clarity, tomorrow’s Market patch will NOT include a wipe, but next week’s Trading patch will. More information about the Trading patch to come.

Server v413.7 // Client v413.8

*** Private Servers, please see new configuration variables at the end of the patch notes

• A new Market structure has been added
  
  • Markets must be connected to a nearby Warehouse to function
    
    • The Warehouse must be connected to a Farmhouse for full functionality
      
    • The Warehouse acts as a repository for trading resources for the Market
  • Trade Routes may be created between Markets
    
  • Preferences for Resource Trading may be set on the Markets
    
  • Markets DO NOT currently Trade
    
    • Markets trading is in testing and bug fixing and will come with a later patch
      
    • Trading will be automated based on preferences set on the Market
      
    • A successful trade will generate some amount of Gold Coins
  • Markets have 150k health and are difficult to destroy
    
  • Crafting a market requires the Advanced Automation skill from the construction tree and may be done at a Smithy
    
  • Some Trade and Market tuning values are configurable for private servers

• Updated the terrain of the Sea Fort island
  
• Simple cosmetic updates to the look of Sea Fort structures (this art is still a placeholder)
  
• Adjusted respawn times for some structures on Sea Forts (walls still respawn quickly)
  
• Made some Sea Fort tuning values configurable for private servers
  
• Updated data on the map about Sea Forts (owner and tax rate are shown)
  
  • Now only shown when zoomed in
    
  • Performance while map is open should be improved
• Increased Defense Tower's damage resistance
  
  • Explosion Damage Received: 100% → 70%
    
  • Explosive Barrel Damage Received: 100% → 10.5%
    
  • Catapult Boulder Damage Received: 100% → 28%
    
  • Ballista Damage Received: 100% → 7%
    
  • Added immunity to melee attacks and liquid flame
• Modified Tower Wall's damage resistance to match Defense Tower
  
  • Explosion Damage Received: 31% → 70%
    
  • Explosive Barrel Damage Received: 31% → 10.5%
• Increased damage dealt by Defense Towers
  
  • Explosion Damage: 100 → 250
    
  • Direct Damage: 180 → 500
• Bug Fix: Sea Forts can no longer be captured on PVE servers
  
• Bug Fix: Players will no longer spawn on Sea Forts

• Bug Fix: The map no longer flickers
  
• Bug Fix: Warehouses can no longer be placed on ships

New variables for Sea Forts, Markets, and Trading have been exposed for server configuration:

• Old Structures on Sea Forts did not get moved with the island, and Sea Fort may not necessarily recognize these structures. This is will be fixed with next week's wipe, or players can also simply destroy the old structures
  
• Claiming issues with Sea Forts on PVP Lawless

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Happy Halloween! Today, we have a small news update and a few teasers of the next part of the Trade System, along with a giveaway!

Unfortunately, the last patch introduced some map issues that were bigger than we initially thought. What we believed was a minor bug that caused flickering when zooming in on the map, actually manifests in different ways on different performance machines, as we have come to learn. As it is more nuanced, it is taking us more time to fully tackle. The second major issue we are working on is fixing the claiming of Sea Forts on PVE. There are multiple ways that we can approach this and we are carefully considering what would be the best option. At this time, we also have multiple branches that we are working on to stabilize for the next build. Whether or not we can release a branch will depend on how testing goes, and we are aiming for a patch next Tuesday. If all goes well, we can expect to release a small maintenance update with fixes on Tuesday, and then the Market Update next week. However, if we have additional problems, we may have to hold the updates. Continuing on that note, our overall goal is to continually release more updates on a regular basis. In between some of the content patches, some weeks may be more along the line of smaller maintenance updates/fixes.

We dropped the first part of the Trade System - the Sea Forts last week. We have been observing the action surrounding them as we continue to update and balance the Sea Forts. The next part of the Trade System that we will be releasing are the Markets! Although players will not be able to use the Trade Routes just yet (we are still testing it out), you will be able to build these Markets next to your Warehouses and play around with the menu and configurations!

Here’s a sneak peak of the new Market, as well as a look at how its UI is developing:




We also have one last sneak peak of the testing we are doing on the Trading Ships and Routes! Again, Trade Routes will not be available yet with the Market update. The Trading Ships are not ready and the functionality of the Routes are still being tested.

*** Please note that the above is a very rough work in progress and what you are seeing will continue to change.

Last but not least, we are ending the month with a Halloween giveaway! We’ve allied with the crews over at Blue Microphones and Nitrado to scour land and sea far and wide for Treasure, and now the spoils are yours to take - aye, if yer lucky!

From now until the November 5th, enter our raffle for a chance to win a Yeti X from Blue Microphones, a 50-slot Atlas voucher from Nitrado, or a Steam Key for Atlas to recruit some new mates! For more information and to enter, visit the link here:

https://www.playatlas.com/index.php?/giveaways/giveaway-halloween2020/

Good luck, ye scallywags!

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch, as well as timing, may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! 🙂



Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!


With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we'd give you guys a little treat - 2x Weekend! Tomorrow 10/29 10:00 AM PT through 11/2 10:00 AM PT, we'll be doubling Treasure Gold, Taming Speeds, and Harvesting! Take advantage of the limited time boost to finally hit some of your goals and have fun! 🙂



Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Today's the day! ATLAS v412.5 is here!

Currently, there is an issue on XBOX where Sea Forts are unable to be claimed. We have a fix coming out for this tomorrow. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding!

Private Server owners will need to update the ServerGrid.ServerOnly.json file by adding a new entry to the database connections called new TradeDB:

{
"Name": "TradeDB",
"URL": "xxx.x.x.x",
"Port": xxxx,
"Password": "xxxx"}

Replacing the correct url, port, and password for your redis server in the above.

It is also necessary to update to the latest ServerGridEditorhere and re-export. You will also be able to add Sea Forts to the map if you wish to.

v411.1

Sea Forts are a form of Control Points that give Companies control over trading in an area. This system is foundational for the upcoming Trade System.

• Sea Forts have automated defenses that will respawn over time when neutral
  
  • Players have a limited number of build points (100) to spend on a Sea Fort they own
    
  • Currently only Defense Towers may be built (15 pts each)
• On PVP Servers, they may be captured and controlled!
  
  • To capture them, destroy the defenses and plant a flag inside the central tower
    
  • The flag takes 25 minutes to force an owned Fort return to neutral
    
  • The flag takes 10 minutes to capture on a neutral Fort
    
  • Sea Forts in Freeport Servers may not be captured
• In an upcoming patch, Sea Forts will allow access through a server for Trading
  
  • You will be able to grant or restrict access to Allies or other Companies
    
  • Access to a Sea Fort is required for you to have trade routes that travel through a server!
• Sea Forts may have a Tax Bank built on them
  
  • The Tax Bank can be raided for gold. Neutral points have the Tax Bank as well
    
  • NOTE: Until trading starts, they aren't actually earning any gold, so the Bank is empty
    
  • Tax Banks will allow companies to tax Trade Routes that use their Fort for access
    
  • Neutral Forts will have a high tax rate and allow everyone access to a server

• Added the Ship Salesman's Island to the center of each Freeport Grid
  
  • NOTE: Ships are not yet available for purchase. They will be added in a future update
• Added Sea Fort Islands to the map. 1-4 exist on every server except the center

• Increased maximum Ship level from 52 to 60
  
• Adjusted Ship XP curve to increase the amount of XP required for early levels and greatly reduce the amount of XP required for later levels
  
  • Overall, this change reduces the total amount of XP required to reach max level
• Added Gold cost for crafting Ships in a Shipyard
  
  • Schooner: 50 Gold
    
  • Brigantine: 250 Gold
    
  • Galleon: 500 Gold
    
  • NOTE: These costs will increase when the trade system has been fully implemented

• Defense Towers may be built at the Smithy
  
  • May only be placed at Sea Forts
    
  • Requires Advanced Automation Skill from the Construction Tree
• Added Fuel Slot to Farmhouse and Warehouse
  
  • Dedicated slot holds up to 1,000 units of Fuel
    
  • This slot is separate from the main inventory
    
  • Burns a unit of fuel at the following intervals:
    
    • Oil: 350 seconds
      
    • Coal: 200 seconds
      
    • Wood: 100 seconds
      
    • Thatch: 40 seconds

• Changed delay before using newly placed land artillery to 10 minutes
  
  • This affects Cannons, Large Cannons, Catapults, Puckles, Ballistas, Mortars, and Swivel Guns
• Bug Fix: Cannons can no longer be fired underwater

• Removed XP reward from all bosses including the Abominable Snowman, Kraken, Hydra, Drake, Ghost Ship, and Blackwood's Queen Cobra
  
• Removed Gold drops from Kraken, Squids, Army of the Damned Soldiers, fishing, and digging. The trade system will become the way to earn gold
  
• Bug Fix: Driving a Cargo Cart over a Pillar will no longer cause the rider to dismount
  
• Bug Fix: If a Ceiling Tile is placed on top of a Pillar and then destroyed, any object built on the Ceiling Tile will also be destroyed

• No Sea Forts in D8
  
• Golden Age Sea Forts currently cannot be claimed
  
• Map may flicker when zoomed
  
• Sea Forts currently have Peace Time which may be removed at a later date
  
• Players may spawn on Sea Forts sometimes

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

The new patch is getting really close! We’re still doing some final work and checks on the build. We don’t have an exact time and date on when it’ll be out yet, but here’s a quick heads up that it’ll likely be out early next week! Keep your eye on this post and our social channels for any updates. :) Now, let’s take a closer look at what’s coming and the tentative changelog.

Patch will be out tonight at 7:00 PM PT. Est 30-45 min downtime. New post with final patch notes and info to come. Stay tuned! :)

Earlier this week, one of the major items we discussed was the upcoming Trade System! A lot of you were curious about what the Towers on the island Control Points, now called Sea Forts, would look like! Trade Routes won’t be available yet, but you’ll be able to at least check out these Sea Forts and battle it out in the upcoming build! Here’s an early sneak peek:

*** Please note that the above reflects a work in progress. The Sea Fort tower structures are still undergoing some work and adjustments will be made in subsequent updates.

We received a few questions as well about how the actual exchange of goods happens and how trade can be disrupted. When shipments for trade are generated, both parties will only receive the goods and generated gold if both Trading Ships successfully make it to the other Market. On PVP, a Shipment will not start if all Sea Forts on a grid that is a part of the Trade Ship’s route have blocked it from usage. Once a shipment starts, it will follow its intended path and pay taxes based on the conditions of its route at inception. Blockading will only stop new shipments or force it into another route if it’s not completely blocked. Trade ships can also be attacked directly, and although players will be able to steal resources from the Trade Ship, this functionality is still a work in progress.

We have seen concerns about how these Trade Ships may affect server load. Optimization and server stability are ongoing issues that involve the continual work we are doing to update the back-end code. Improvements are going to be a gradual process. However, we do have a mechanic in place to prevent an overload of Trade Ships. Once generated Trade Ships have reached a certain threshold, any shipments that should have been generated thereafter will be virtual. Virtual shipments do not generate a Trade Ship and cannot be attacked or stopped once it has met the conditions to start.

We also discussed the upcoming Ships for Gold system. At this time the plan is to have it exist alongside the current Ship system. The next patch will see a few changes to Ships to balance it out with the changes that the Trade system and Ships for Gold system will bring. Maximum level has been increased to 60 for ships and the exp curve has been adjusted accordingly. Schooner, Brigantine, and Galleon will now additionally cost Gold to build, and this amount will increase once the Trade System has been fully implemented. The new Ship Salesman has also settled into the Freeports, so you can pay him a visit although no ships will be available for purchase yet.

Many players were also concerned upon hearing about “more wipes.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s going to suddenly be wipes left and right, only that instead of hesitating to wipe or waiting until a new “season,” we will perform the wipe if a situation calls for it. However, it does mean that a wipe can happen at any time, but only when necessary. We're going to do our best to minimize the possibility, but the possibility is always there. We'll announce wipes when we're sure, although how much of a heads up we can give is going to depend on the situation.

Understandably, many of you were also anticipating a wipe after hearing this news. This next patch will NOT include a wipe. However, as we continue to implement the Trade System, a wipe will be a necessary part of the process. We do not have a date for this yet, and will make an announcement once we do. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

For our Pathfinders sailing the seas of Private Servers, we will also let Private Server owners know if we recommend to follow suit when we announce a wipe.


In addition to the pieces we are setting in place for the Trade system and Ships for Gold, are a few changes and bug fixes as well. We’d also like to remind everyone that we are indeed working on bug fixes and other issues in tandem with the new content. Some patches may see more content, and other patches may see more tweaks or fixes. While certain patches may focus more in one area than another, it does not mean that we are not working on other things. We are a small team doing our best to balance all sides, and we appreciate all of your support and understanding as we continue to shape ATLAS’ gameplay.

See the tentative patch notes below:

*** Please note that this is only a preview of the next patch. Final Patch Notes for the Live build may differ and will be reposted once it goes live.

Sea Forts are a form of Control Points that give Companies control over trading in an area. This system is foundational for the upcoming Trade System.

• Sea Forts have automated defenses that will respawn over time when neutral
  
  • Players have a limited number of build points (100) to spend on a Sea Fort they own
    
  • Currently only Defense Towers may be built (15 pts each)
• On PVP Servers, they may be captured and controlled!
  
  • To capture them, destroy the defenses and plant a flag inside the central tower
    
  • The flag takes 25 minutes to force an owned Fort return to neutral
    
  • The flag takes 10 minutes to capture on a neutral Fort
    
  • Sea Forts in Freeport Servers may not be captured
• In an upcoming patch, Sea Forts will allow access through a server for Trading
  
  • You will be able to grant or restrict access to Allies or other Companies
    
  • Access to a Sea Fort is required for you to have trade routes that travel through a server!
• Sea Forts may have a Tax Bank built on them
  
  • The Tax Bank can be raided for gold. Neutral points have the Tax Bank as well
    
  • NOTE: Until trading starts, they aren't actually earning any gold, so the Bank is empty
    
  • Tax Banks will allow companies to tax Trade Routes that use their Fort for access
    
  • Neutral Forts will have a high tax rate and allow everyone access to a server

• Added the Ship Salesman's Island to the center of each Freeport Grid
  
  • NOTE: Ships are not yet available for purchase. They will be added in a future update
• Added Sea Fort Islands to the map. 1-4 exist on every server except the center

• Increased maximum Ship level from 52 to 60
  
• Adjusted Ship XP curve to increase the amount of XP required for early levels and greatly reduce the amount of XP required for later levels
  
  • Overall, this change reduces the total amount of XP required to reach max level
• Added Gold cost for crafting Ships in a Shipyard
  
  • Schooner: 50 Gold
    
  • Brigantine: 250 Gold
    
  • Galleon: 500 Gold
    
  • NOTE: These costs will increase when the trade system has been fully implemented

• Defense Towers may be built at the Smithy
  
  • May only be placed at Sea Forts
    
  • Requires Advanced Automation Skill from the Construction Tree
• Added Fuel Slot to Farmhouse and Warehouse
  
  • Dedicated slot holds up to 1,000 units of Fuel
    
  • This slot is separate from the main inventory
    
  • Burns a unit of fuel at the following intervals:
    
    • Oil: 350 seconds
      
    • Coal: 200 seconds
      
    • Wood: 100 seconds
      
    • Thatch: 40 seconds

• Changed delay before using newly placed land artillery to 10 minutes
  
  • This affects Cannons, Large Cannons, Catapults, Puckles, Ballistas, Mortars, and Swivel Guns
• Bug Fix: Cannons can no longer be fired underwater

• Removed XP reward from all bosses including the Abominable Snowman, Kraken, Hydra, Drake, Ghost Ship, and Blackwood's Queen Cobra
  
• Removed Gold drops from Kraken, Squids, Army of the Damned Soldiers, fishing, and digging. The trade system will become the way to earn gold
  
• Bug Fix: Driving a Cargo Cart over a Pillar will no longer cause the rider to dismount
  
• Bug Fix: If a Ceiling Tile is placed on top of a Pillar and then destroyed, any object built on the Ceiling Tile will also be destroyed

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

After lots of internal discussion we have decided to start cranking out more frequent, smaller content drops rather than larger, expansive features that take months to prepare. This ultimately does not change our current feature course, but rather than wait for more content we are simply going to drop what we’re working on now - the first iteration of the Trade System next week!

How does this affect your everyday pirate life? More dev news - you are going to hear from us more often on new features we are developing. Faster content drops means more new features, but also more map wipes. Good and bad, right?! In the true spirit of early access (which ATLAS certainly is still in!), we are going to tell our awesome community what we are working on, ask the community for gameplay feature ideas and see if some of them work….not every feature we test out will ultimately make it into the final game. We might change our mind!

Now without further ado, let’s talk about where we are at with some of the things we’re working on!

Since we first started on this renewed ATLAS journey, we have introduced Farmhouses and Warehouses into the mix. We have hinted that these were more than just a standard QoL improvement. We are building upon these features to develop a Trade System!

We will be introducing a new structure, Markets, that are used to set up trades. Markets will need to be connected to a Warehouse, which in turn should be connected to a Farmhouse. Farmhouses are used to fill the Warehouse that the Market will use to look things up to trade. Markets will need to be placed next to a Warehouse and each Warehouse may only have one Market. Players will need to control both land for resources and Markets, and sea for Trade Routes.

In the actual Market itself, players will have a menu that will allow them to set up their resources for trade and the exchange rate at which they will trade for. Players can then request trading routes with other Markets. Once the trade route with another Market has been established, the connected Markets will automatically set up the trades as long as both parties have the required resources within their Warehouses. A log is also available in the Market menu to keep track of trades, requests, attacks on your shipment.

A new island type, Control Points, will be integral to the Trading System. Each grid on the server may have anywhere between 1-3 Control Points that companies can capture for an advantage. When trade conditions are met, Markets will create a shipment of the goods. This Trade ship will automatically sail to its target destination, going through any Control Points on the grids that are a part of its route. These shipments will also generate gold for each party - the longer the trade route, the more gold is generated. Companies that own a Control Point can set a tax on any shipment moving through it. If there is more than one Control Point on a grid, the shipment will automatically choose the lower tax if available. If a company owns a Control Point on the grid, it will prioritize the company’s to avoid tax. Companies that own a Control Point can also choose to blockade specific companies from using its Control Point, making it possible for companies to stop trades between others. Players will also be able to directly attack any shipments en route as well.

Control Point islands will have a unique icon on the map. These islands will contain a central structure surrounded by canon towers. Players will have to destroy all canon towers and the middle structure where they will have to plant a flag in order to gain control. The structures will then rebuild themselves and players will be able to place the canon towers at specific defensive points and build other defensive structures around them. Control points will automatically start defending itself once attacked. Next to the towers will be the Tax Bank where the taxed gold is collected. Unowned Control Points can still defend themselves and will collect taxes into its Tax Bank. Tax Banks can be destroyed and stolen from.

On PVE, no one can take ownership of the Control Points, so trades will always be open to anyone, however, the Control Points will always collect taxes at a set rate and PVE will also be able to steal from the Tax Bank.

A couple months back, we wanted to add an early version of a new Ships for Gold system. Upon reviewing Community feedback and further ideation, we took the feature back to the drawing board to further develop. With the next update, you may see a new NPC on an island. Although he has no functionality yet, we are sure that Pathfinders will be paying him plenty of visits in the future. 😉

The Ships for Gold system will be slowly rolled out after we launch the Trade System. While we are still in development, we wanted to tease the first ship that will be available for players to buy with gold - The Ramming Ship!


***The render above is still a work in progress and is subject to change.

The Ramming Ship has a unique front end that is specialized for the purpose of - you guessed it - ramming straight into other ships! It features built in cannon ports and a lower deck with holes for oar boards that can be extended for a speed boost, even when there is no wind. Players can tactically use their oar boards for a temporary speed boost to increase their damage multiplier when ramming into an enemy ship! The Ramming Ship will likely not be customizable upon release, however, we are working on a modular customization mechanic for these new ships that can be bought for gold.

The design goal here is to provide an “Interceptor” option that can be used to catch fleeing ships or shorten a chase.

The current ship system will exist alongside this new ship system when it launches. However, apart from the Sloop, previous ships will additionally cost gold to build. Generating gold with trade routes will be integral to earning enough gold for upkeep.

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.

As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! We will be paying extra attention to your thoughts on the upcoming Trade System and Ships for Gold, and will continue to make adjustments as necessary. Thank you for all of your support! 🙂


Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

Ahoy Pathfinders!

Servers will be going down shortly at 4:00PM PT for maintenance. Estimated 30-40 min downtime. We're also happy to announce that the ATLAS DevKit will be updated at this time! Thank you everyone who has been waiting patiently for it!



Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

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

The upcoming patch will be more focused on fixes and balance passes as we continue to look into combat and also develop the farmhouse and warehouse system. Ships of the Damned issues among other bugs have also been fixed.

We’d like to thank our community for all of your feedback thus far. As we continue to engage with the community, we’d like to introduce a survey to help us better quantify community sentiment regarding certain changes to our patches. We would be grateful if you could fill out the survey for v.410.2 here: https://forms.gle/tvcdYcDqhBPP3bRY7

The Patch is scheduled for tonight, 9/01 at 8:00 PM Pacific Time Zone.

Please see below for the detailed Patch Notes of our latest update, v.410.2


Combat

1. Shield bash can no longer be used while in the air
   
2. Bug Fix: Soft Spots Feat now only affects Two-Handed Mace
   
3. Bug Fix: Brass Knuckles no longer affect shield bash damage

Construction

1. Structures can no longer be built on tables
   
2. Grills, Crop Plots, Water Pipes, Paintings, Flags, and Buoys can no longer be built in Freeports or on land claimed by another company

Crafting

1. Cloth Armor and Simple Bed may now also be crafted at the Loom
   
2. Waterskin may now also be crafted at the Tannery
   
3. Wood Wall/Floor/Ceiling/Roof, Repair Hammer, and Storage Boxes (including large) may now also be crafted at the Smithy
   
4. New Skill added to Artillery Tree: Captain of Renown -
   As a master of both crew and artillery, your exploits as a pirate are known far and wide. Recruits seek you out allowing you to craft artillery that comes manned for an extra bit of coin.
   Requires BOTH Gatling Studies from the Artillery Tree
   
5. New Crafting Recipes added to the Smithy: Manned Cannon, Manned Large Cannon, and Manned Puckle -
   These recipes cost the same resources as their unmanned variants plus an additional 10 gold coins
   Crew will spawn at them after 30 seconds and man the station

Explosive Barrels

1. Explosive Barrel projectiles that don't explode on impact can be defused
   
2. Explosive Barrel toss distance increased by 50%
   
3. Tossed Explosive Barrels no longer stick to players, creatures, or the sides of structures
   
4. Catapult reload time for Explosive Barrels changed to 2 seconds
   
5. Bug Fix: Barrels placed or tossed onto ships will now explode when their timer expires
   
6. Bug Fix: Explosive Barrels shot out of cannons will no longer instantly stick to the water

Golden Age Ruins Creatures (Fire Elementals, Rock Elementals, and Cyclops)

1. XP awarded after creature's death instead of per hit
   
2. Damage dealt to ships increased by 100%
   
3. Damage dealt to players decreased by 20%

Ships

1. Increased the range of Ship Ammunition Container from 30m to 40m
   
2. Bug Fix: Ships no longer leave behind their frame when destroyed
   
3. Bug Fix: Ships of the Damned should now behave normally

Submarines

1. Bug Fix: Horse cart weapons can no longer be fired from a submarine
   
2. Bug Fix: Grenades can no longer be thrown from Submarines

Tames

1. Cows can be ridden by equipping a Tier 2 Saddle

Warehouses and Farmhouses

1. Reduced exclusion radius for placing Warehouses from 2km to 800m
   
2. Increased the weight limit in the Warehouse from 50,000 to 250,000 and increased max inventory items from 40 to 100
   
3. Added 'Transfer All,' 'Transfer Half,' and 'Transfer Amount' option to Warehouse and Farmhouse inventory, similar to how stacks may be split in player inventory
   
4. Warehouses, Farmhouses, and Stone Farmhouses no longer use Wood or Thatch as fuel and instead use Coal/Oil, which lasts 60/120 seconds per unit
   
5. Warehouses now transport Wood and Thatch
   
6. Warehouses no longer transport Oil or Coal (This solution will be iterated on soon)
   
7. Bug Fix: Warehouses and Farmhouses no longer have crafting inventory section that falsely implies you can craft in them

Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew

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

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

Ahoy Pathfinders.

Right now, the crew is working diligently on Ship of the Damned issues where they are not moving as they should. We will also be addressing the ship skeletons that are not despawning, amongst other issues as well.

Since season 1, many hours have gone into creating PVP centric mechanics in ATLAS. Seasons 2 and 3 saw many changes that restricted the use of these mechanics. We’re interested in highlighting these unique mechanics, and are looking at different ways to bring them back into the mix and balance them further. As the current state of the game develops, so will the meta.

Starting with the next patch, we’ll be unveiling a quick survey on the latest changes that all players can take, so that we can get a better understanding of the community’s sentiments.

We also have more Q&A from the crew below:

Question: When will we get a feature complete small group map where all the content is included? If I missed it, don't hesitate to point me in the right direction. Blackwood is broken/doesn't have all resources. We had a 4x4 private server and our group tried Blackwood when it launched, but the resources are reversed, and there are only a few types of rare metals/woods etc.

Answer: There's no clear roadmap for that right now. We are putting everything behind cleaning up the main game and adding new features to it.


Question: When ATLAS first released, it was mentioned that humans would be able to create offspring, is that tabled forever? Reference: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/12/19/atlas-pirate-mmo-developer-interview/

Answer: We totally want this, but we think it's fair to say that this is a long way off. Atlas has many bugs and systems that need to be optimized / improved. Once we get that down, we can expand into this kind of territory.


Question: Are you considering more PvE ocean jobs like strictly whaling, lobstering, shrimping or fishing for rare aquatic stuff?

Answer: Yes! You get it! We really want to put way more things for players to do on the ocean and that is one line of our two prong strategy. We are halftime working on cleaning up the code, which means removing bugs and readdressing broken systems, and the other half of the time we are focused on more ocean-centric features


Question: Will there ever be more underwater ships (in addition to submarine) for a new level of combat?

Answer: There are lots to fix and improve in the main game before we expand to this. Right now the team is focusing on getting a solid base of fun coming from the existing game with a larger number of players playing.


Question: What about the problem where we sail into a lot of SoTD after crossing another server? I sunk 2 times because of it... 1 time with a brig and 1 with a schooner. They are so often way too close to the server edge. I don't mind fighting them, but sailing into 2-4 SoTD will kill any small ship, especially without any canons. How can we react that fast? When we reach another server, they already shoot before we even see that they are attacking.

Answer: Having Ships of the Damned crossing into other servers can make this dynamic encounter more in-depth. We hear you about loading into a grid just to get attacked. The right balance is more complicated than you might think and this team is committed to doing things the right way.


For a chance to get your questions answered, you can submit them to us in the comments here or on Discord!

Don’t forget to submit photos on Steam and Xbox, or tag us in your screenshots on Social Media! You may just get featured in our next post. Here is a belated International Cat Day photo from player “Glider” on Steam.



Happy Sailing,
-ATLAS Crew

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