Dec 18, 2020

Warhammer: Chaos And Conquest - Nitek

Hail, Mighty Lords!
You may now download the latest version 2.10.13 of Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest!
Please check out the patch notes below:

The maximum level of the following Fortress structures has been increased from level 30 to 32.

Chaos Fortress
Lumbermill
Quarry
Blast Furnace
Slaughter Pens
Warehouse
Fortress Walls

Added 5 new player portraits.

Added 5 new renown units:

Tier 4 Undivided Cavalry - The Swords of Chaos
Tier 4 Slaanesh Chariot - The Tormentors
Tier 4 Nurgle Infantry - Crowhunger Brethren
Tier 4 Khorne Infantry - The Skull Takers
Tier 4 Tzeentch Infantry - Kaldour’s Knights

New Keep Skin

Gore Fountain

New Map Event

Frozen Warpfire Devastation
Frozen Warpfire Dragons descend from their lairs, bringing ruination to all! They use their frost powers against all who cross their paths.
The rewards from this event includes the newly added tier 4 Renown units.

Balance Changes

Equipment:
Maggot plate of rot
Defense salvaging stat for all tiers applies at all levels.

Cleaver of Bile
Added new stat Reinforcement Bonus
Scales from 100,000 to 1,250,000 Extra Units

Icon of sloth
Added new stat - Gathering Speed
Scales from 2.5% to 25%

Brand of Hashut
Added new stat bonus damage Vs Elves Scaling from 1 to 5%

Sabatons of Mockery
Added new stat Cavalry Armour Bonus Scaling from 2 to 20%

Gauntlets of Damnation
Added new stat - Monstrous Cavalry Cost Reduction IV
Scales from 1% to 10%

Warlords:

Bloodthirster:
Khorne morale bonus removed.
Khorne Ranged Damage bonus added.

Gutrot Spume:
Sabotage rescalled to 27% at max level

Keeper of Secrets:
Slaanesh morale bonus Removed.
Slaanesh melee damage bonus Added.

Units:
Burning Chariots of Tzeentch:
Speed decreased from 10 to 9.

Hellflayer of Slaanesh:
Speed increased from 8 to 9.

Winged Daemon Prince (Slaanesh):
Speed Increased from 9 to 10.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where chat panel messages weren't being translated.
Fixed bug with Alliance Trials adding progress from network events that happened outside of Ulthuan
Fixed a bug where the player’s currency would not update correctly after purchasing from the Warmaster’s Store.
(PC) Fixed offset Challenge Icon on the HUD
Fixed an issue where unit rewards from chests such as Treasure of Eataine would not display correctly.
Fixed a bug where the purchasing tutorial about caved units would trigger on all purchases.
Fixed a bug with Champion Stamina Regen infinitely counting up.
Fixed a bug where hostile marches would be recalled from encampments if your main city shielded.

Dec 18, 2020

Weekly Report #52

Chernobylite Complete Edition - Pablo

Hello Stalkers!

Christmas is coming soon! For many of you, it's a time of rest, meeting your family (even virtual), and of course - gifts!

Before we go for a well-deserved rest ourselves, we still have a few things to do. More specifically, it is about introducing a lot of corrections and novelties to Chernobylite to make this Christmas more enjoyable for you.

We will also take this opportunity to show you what the work of a game tester in our company is all about. We hope that it will be not only interesting, but also informative - after all, everyone who wants to take the first step in the gaming industry usually starts this way (but not necessarily).

Little UI cleanup

First, we decided to do a little cleanup with the UI. For this purpose, we removed the weapon statistics in the recycler and fixed them not working in the storage. We also got rid of a bug where the gas mask was still visible in Igor's hand after removing the gas mask (e.g. after being moved to the storage).

This isn’t new yet, but we have already started working on updating the note system. We’re testing many solutions that are not only pleasant to the eyes but also useful. This includes the ability to resize notes and keep background effects while viewing notes. There is a bit of it so we will discuss it for a while but we think it will be worth waiting for the final result.

Without a detailed map, don't move

A little mention of something big. While making some adjustments to the game, we also looked at probably one of the most essential elements of the game - maps. As you can see, the Moscow Eye map will be greatly enriched with additional elements, making it clearer and more convenient to use. It includes adding a few missing buildings, water sources, fences, and a clearer outline of the level boundaries.

Similar changes await for Pripyat Port….

...and Kopachi.

Views of the power plant at night

This point looks like a gaggle to feast your eyes a bit. However, this is actually one of the effects of our in-game fix work.

We fixed a minor problem that was bothering us a bit. Namely, we have reduced the "strength" of the lights on the building, so that they should not shine through the trees.

Additionally, we reduced their brightness a bit, so they blend in better with the background. We also added missing lights on the chimneys.

Quick overview

And how about minor and major improvements and news that you suggested to us? Among them there are:

removed unnecessary fill after removing sharpen option in advanced video settings
fixed the pop-up that sometimes went out of frame
added the ability to select/deselect a marker on the map with LMB
moved the shader viewmode to F6 key
added hero breathing status while sprinting
updated stats for items used by companions
fixed the button icons on the map widget

And perhaps the most important change: added quick save and quick load under F5 / F8 keys.

F5 will now save the game in the quick save slot, while F8 will load the game directly from that slot. The quick save slot is also available in the load game menu.

Searching for the bugs

Every week we provide you with a solid dose of information about what stage Chernobylite is at. Most of the reports are descriptions of bugs that have been caught in the game. Of course, a lot of your credit for that is. However, we cannot forget about our silent heroes as well.

Meet Sebastian Rojek, our game tester. It is he who spends every day catching and reporting every, even the smallest, error in the game. But since we have such a huge help from your side (meaning our players), he also tries to find the ones you’re reporting. All this so that we can provide you with a product free of defects (hopefully).

It is said that the tester's work is repetitive and can be tedious. However, as Sebastian says, he is lucky that he didn’t fall into a routine during this project. To some extent, thanks to you as well. - We are working on Early Access, which slightly increases the dynamics and the way we run the project. Of course, we have a work schedule that we stick to, but at the same time we have to respond to feedback and errors reported by the gaming community - he says. - My day looks completely different a few days after the megapatch was released, when we focus on community feedback, and completely different a few days before, where we are still struggling with defects in completely new aspects of the game.

What is the tester's working day like? The first thing to do is download the latest version of the game with the latest fixes. Sebastian admits that there were days when he could afford to fence the whole project to see if previously reported bugs were fixed, and then he focused on specific mechanics or other aspects of the game that needed improvement.

- Currently, the project is so large that the work must be divided and organized. We devote part of the day to player reports because it is a valuable source of knowledge about the bugs and problems they encounter. Later, depending on the situation, either I make sure that our colleagues from other departments' corrections have had the desired effect, or we check if any of the patches have broken other elements of the game, or we perform functional tests of new or changed game mechanics.

It's time to deal with one of the biggest myths in the industry: a tester's job is not just about playing games and flipping a lot of money! Sebastian admits that such an image often appears in the minds of people outside the industry, and also, unfortunately, in some people already working in gamedev. - My work is largely based on previously prepared test documentation, collected information about the progress of work from individual departments, prepared checklists and a lot of organizational work so that the time later used for testing brings the best possible results - he says.

Speaking of bug reporting, each report should contain both a general description of the problem and the most accurate information about the steps leading to it, where it occurs, attach a screenshot or a video file with a record of the error. - Sometimes these are simple things that require looking at a given place, sometimes they are much more difficult cases, the reproduction of which requires a very specific positioning or reproducing even several dozen steps. It would probably be more difficult, but we have the right tools to make our work easier. Yes, we have cheats - admits Sebastian without any shame.

Do the testers, like the rest of the team, face difficulties in their work? According to Sebastian, in this case it is better to talk about challenges than difficulties. And he adds that in testing work, you are a bit at the center of everything that happens in the project. - Some departments cooperate with each other only to a limited extent. The tester works with everyone. It checks functionality, sound, graphics, optimization, compliance with design, etc. - says Sebastian. - You have to be careful with work and organize it well, because chaos can sneak in very easily. It may sound funny, but you have to "test" different approaches and learn from "mistakes" - he adds.

Reported defect priorities are reflected from two reference points. The first is to influence the project as a product that needs to be completed and released, the second is Early Access and the people who buy and play Chernobylite all the time. - We have to keep both of these things in mind. The defect, which may be small in the scale of the project, can completely spoil the gameplay experience of people downloading the new patch from Steam - emphasizes Sebastian.

Coming back to the issue of cooperation between the tester and the team, it is worth paying attention to one more thing: there is a belief that developers treat testers as a necessary evil. Because they catch bugs that need to be patched, and this only extends the game production process. Sebastian recalls having dealt with such situations over the years. - In my experience of working on games, there have been a lot of people who could throw meat at the tester, and "you just spoil, you would do something useful" isn’t the worst that can be heard - he admits. At the same time, he points out that the defects found by testers are the result of a mistake made, for example, by a programmer or designer, and they are often sensitive to their work being "picked on".

According to Sebastian, the cooperation depends largely on the tester himself. - It can build an atmosphere of cooperation and a common goal or conflict and criticism of someone else's work. You have to be in the back of your head all the time that you talk to people who spend many hours on their contribution to the project, so it's best not to be guided by emotions, and only consider arguments and dry facts - he says.

Of course - as he points out - the tester should have his own opinion and be able to assess many things himself. At the same time, it should also be able to shift the weight of the conversation towards solving the problem and extinguishing a potential conflict, not its flare-up. - You have to be able to conduct a dialogue in which the end result is a better shape of the project. I think people who can't handle it will only get frustrated in this profession or the industry in general, because it works both ways - says Sebastian.

- For me, working at Chernobylite is very fun in this respect, because we are a small team, so these relationships are in many cases direct and intense. We managed to develop a good workflow quite quickly and it has a good impact on the project. A lot of us are enthusiasts and sometimes you have the impression that they approach more interesting reported defects with curiosity than anger - he emphasizes.

fot. PatHecke

Are there any unusual situations in this job, as in any other? Naturally. In fact, it is required that such happen. And it's even better if game tester causes it himself. Sebastian admits that imagination is important in this work. - Sometimes you need a flash of genius and sometimes you have to do really stupid things. I can still remember the look of Arthur Fojcik who asked me why I was shooting dead bodies shortly after I reported a bug where shooting soldiers' bodies in Chernobylite was generating extra loot.

"It's not a bug, it's a feature"

Sebastian brings up one more anecdote that gives shivers down his back: - I used to think that a new event was added to the game that made the level pools full of blood. When I tried to find out what the event was it turned out to be a water display problem. Maybe that was the problem, maybe it was fixed and gone. For me, this will forever remain one of the darkest events in Chernobylite.

We ourselves regret that this "bug" has been fixed. :(

That's it for today!

Take care, Stalkers!

Dec 18, 2020

Isle of Siptah Producer Letter

Conan Exiles - Nicole V(Community Manager)

Hello Exiles!

I wanted to catch everyone up on what the team has been working on since the Isle of Siptah Early Access launch and give a preview of what is coming to Conan Exiles in early 2021.

First thing first, let’s chat Isle of Siptah. We released in Early Access on September 15th, and since then we have been releasing small updates to fix bugs, adjust balance, and address some of the feedback we have received. We have also been reading the reviews players have posted on Steam, our forums, and social media.

When we released Isle of Siptah we knew that we were making some risky decisions and tweaking some of the core aspects of Conan Exiles that people have come to love and embrace over the past 4 years. Some of the features with Isle of Siptah have been well–received, and some of them have not. Below you will see two charts that attempt to categorize the most common comments we have seen on reviews:

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Conan Exiles is a sandbox game where the players can decide how they want to play. We also have different server types which allow very different communities to play and experience the game in the way they like the most. On top of this we allow mods which can take the game in amazing new directions that we never expected. The result is that we end up having a lot of different core user types that expect and want different things. We expect any change to potentially upset some users in the various groups, but it is obvious that we have missed the mark with too many of our customers with Isle of Siptah. This is something we plan to address.

One of the main purposes of having an Early Access period is precisely so we can receive feedback from the community and tweak and improve our game as we move towards full launch.

Improvements to the Isle of Siptah

Some of the negative feedback we received during Early Access was that the Isle of Siptah seemed emptier than the Exiled Lands (lacking NPC camps for example), that there were too few good places to build, that the storm was too dominating, that the map itself seemed a bit too small, that there was not enough PvE content, that you couldn’t transfer characters between maps and that it was too cumbersome to capture thralls.

Going forward we will improve the Isle of Siptah expansion significantly in all these aspects by:

Introducing many new NPC camps around the map
Populate the camps with humans who can be captured as thralls
Expand the island map to the south with new content and desirable building locations
Tone down the intensity of the storm and make it possible to build within the storm area
Break the links between the vaults, the storm, and the surge
Introduce purges with enemies from the island
Introduce new activities and new PvE mechanics
Make new and unique placeables for the Isle of Siptah
Introduce a new religion and new avatar
Open a chamber in the Tower of Siptah, with great rewards to be found inside
Allow character transfers between the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah

All New NPC Camps

NPC camps, full of life and activity, greatly increase the richness of the world of Conan Exiles. We will introduce many such camps to the Isle of Siptah. These camps will have a host of different human NPCs which can be captured as thralls just like in the Exiled Lands.

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A new camp is being built with exclusive on-land diving board facilities.

The camps will vary in size and come from three different factions. Stygian mercenaries have settled on the Isle of Siptah. They are eager to restore the colony their ancestors left behind on the island and view it of great strategic importance as a stop off for traders between Argos, Stygia and the Black Kingdoms.

Black Corsair pirates have also landed here. Their nefarious purposes are shrouded in mystery, and they do not seem particularly fond of strangers. If you venture too close to their newly formed camps, you will see many bodies impaled on spikes, serving as a warning to trespassers.

Near the black tower in the middle of the island, a new and especially large camp has formed. Can those who dwell there be survivors of the devilish sorcery of the surges? The terrifying experience of being taken from their homes and dragged though the outer dark to end up on the Isle of Siptah must surely have driven them mad, as they now work side-by-side with the horrific creatures of the storm.

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A new camp is taking shape near the Tower of Siptah

Vaults, Storm, and Surge Changed

The Isle of Siptah expansion offered a new game loop consisting of three components: the vaults, the storm, and the surge. The intent was for you to complete vaults to gain sigils and eldarium, use the sigils to kill monsters in the storm to harvest their essence, then finally use the eldarium and essences to summon a surge for a chance to capture thralls.

We realize that many people find this process too cumbersome and we are responding to your feedback by breaking the features’ dependence on each other.

Vaults will all be rebalanced to be level 60 dungeons, each with their own unique rewards. Vaults will still be the source of eldarium on the isle, and eldarium will still be used to delve and craft new recipes.

The storm will become less pervasive, allowing you to build within its area of effect without drawing the attention of the creatures of the storm. You may now hunt these horrors of the outer void for new and unique rewards, and they won’t be the only source of the essences needed to power the surge.

The surge will largely remain the same as it is now, but the rewards will be changed. Completing a surge may reward you with a Fragment of Power. These fragments can be used inside a chamber in the Tower of Siptah for new and great rewards! The surge will no longer be the only source of thralls on the island with the introduction of the many NPC camps.

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Many vaults are being rebalanced and will offer unique rewards.

New Lands, Purges, New Religion, and Much More

We are expanding the size of the Isle of Siptah to the south, and with these new lands the overland map size of the island will be over 90% that of the Exiled Lands. This area will be divided into three different biomes, with the Ashlands, the Floodlands, and the Savannah.

There will be many desirable base building locations in these lands plus new NPC cities from two new races. Several mysterious black pools can be found in one of these cities, and they will be linked to an all new PvE mechanic allowing you to test your mettle in brutal fights against monstrous opponents. We are also planning several new activities which encourage exploration of the Isle of Siptah and the opportunity to free human NPCs from camps, making them your followers.

A new religion with its own unique weapons, tool, priest outfit, avatar and altars is coming. Its avatar is a horrific monster like no other, sure to give those with a faint heart or a certain phobia nightmares.

In addition, purges (like those you can find in the Exiled Lands, where large groups of enemies attack your base) are coming to the Isle of Siptah. The area you build in will determine the types of purges you can get, some of which come from the hideous creatures from the vaults, the storm monsters, or humans from the new NPC camps. A new mechanic will be introduced to these purges, allowing you to use resources to either prevent or provoke a purge.

And finally, we know that many of you have been asking for a way to transfer your characters between the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah, and we are happy to say that we are working on letting you do so. A character transfer system will be introduced during Isle of Siptah Early Access to allow you to use your favorite character on the map you choose to play on.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support and for all their Early Access feedback, helping us improve the Isle of Siptah expansion. We wish everyone who celebrate happy holidays and a happy new year!

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One of the cities being built in the new lands coming to the Isle of Siptah.