This update should fix the bug where your "Home Plate" base would spawn on top of your "Initial Point" base which would cause all kinds of weird things to happen!
We opted out of writing these regular development blogs for the last part of 2022, figuring there wasn’t much more we could tell you that wasn’t about announcing the Mistlands update itself! But now we have passed that particular milestone, and it’s time to look towards the future.
First though, we want to say a most heartfelt thank you to all of you who played the Mistlands during the Public Test phase, and to all of you who have played the update since it was released properly. Thank you for your feedback, for your thoughts and for your time! With Mistlands being such a large and long-expected update, it was quite scary to finally reveal it to all of you, and it was such a relief to see how much you liked it!
But now to the future, for real.
Our next big biome update is going to be the Ashlands, and we have begun with the pre-production of that biome by creating some concept art and trying to work out the feeling we want the biome to have. It will be quite different from what we’re all used to, given that the Ashlands is a large chunk of land at the far south of the map, rather than small islands spread out over the world.
When it comes to development itself, there is something we would like to do very differently this time. With the Mistlands, we were very secretive. This is great for those who want to discover as much as possible for themselves (which is the main reason why we kept so much hidden), but it’s also not very transparent. Therefore, our ambition with the development of the Ashlands is to show you a lot more of the process. This will mean you will see things in their early stages, and maybe even things that won’t end up making it into the game at all, but you will also hopefully have a better understanding of how far along the development has gotten. We’ll be trying this out for the Ashlands development period and see how it goes, and we’d like to start off right away by showing you some enemy concepts:
As you might be able to guess from these images, our current design vision for the Ashlands is that it’s a land of the dead, as well as a place with quite a volcanic nature. We’re really looking forward to exploring the concept and finding out where it will lead us, and we’re excited to have you along for this journey!
If you’re concerned about the Ashlands taking a long time to develop, you can rest assured that we have some fun things planned for you between then and now. Something you already know is that Valheim will get an Xbox release early this year, and with the crossplay support you will be able to play with your console-bound friends. We have also talked about adding some new difficulty settings, and we are working on something which we’re currently calling Hildir’s Quest! While the programming and QA folks were busy working out the final bugs of the Mistlands, our artists got creative and designed some brand new clothes for your characters, which became the start of this little update. The clothes might still get further changes, but we think they’re looking pretty nice so far!
Hildir’s Quest will also have some other fun things, like an additional NPC (the eponymous Hildir herself) and a way for you to re-style your existing characters’ hair! Don’t worry though, an update like this won’t be taking any significant time away from the development of the Ashlands. Due to the nature of game development, not everyone can work on the same thing at the same time, and working on something like Hildir’s Quest will ensure that the Ashlands pre-production can proceed while the team works as efficiently as possible.
Another thing we want to do in the future is to improve the accessibility of the game. This is long overdue, but we want to finally add some options so that more people can enjoy Valheim. If you have a disability or any other factor that affects your gaming, you are more than welcome to send us an email and tell us a bit about it and about any solutions you can think of that would improve your experience.
Build of the month
Since it’s been a while without announcing a Build of the Month, we want to highlight more than one creation this time! Check out the cosy cottage by HelloHellie, MythicBuildV’s epic dragon temple, and the proud Mistlands keep by TBasicBuilder. If you want your creation to be featured, use the hashtag #ValheimBotM on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. You can view previous builds in this thread on Steam.
Thank you for joining us on the Valheim journey thus far, and let’s head into 2023 together! /The Iron Gate team
If you’d like to discuss the content of this post, please visit our Discord, or our forums on Reddit and Steam, or make a comment on social media!
It's about bocking time but there's only two days before you can start delivering the best nugs this side of the East-coast, what nugs you want to deliver though, I'll leave that up to you...
First of all, we want to wish you a happy new year! 2023 is an important year for the studio and we will start with one of the most important milestones for Reign of Dwarf, the Kickstarter.
Thank you all for your interest, the previous playtest was a great success. Don’t forget! If you want to test Reign of Dwarf, you can join the Discord and also add the game to your wishlist on Steam.
Kickstarter Coming Soon !
We are happy to announce that next week we will be launching our very first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. You will find on this page all the information about the game and what we want to create! During the campaign progress, we will also update a FAQ to keep you informed and clarify some of your questions!
Be ready to discover all the rewards that we have prepared for you.
Influence Chest
Since the last devblog, we have continued to implement the Influence Chest features. And you can also discover here the new 3D model of the chest of influence! This asset allows you to instantly see which clan name influences the area you are in as well as the tax rate that is applied!
You can Clear and Removed members of your clan, set up your tax number, rename your clan, open your chest to see and take your resources, and lock and unlock the chest.
Chest Models
Reign of Dwarf has a PVE aspect with the lost camps in the forest where you can fight hordes of orcs or goblins. And of course, you can find much more or less rare loot there. What could be better than magnificent chests to keep your future treasures well hidden? Below you can admire different sizes of chests that you can find in many places on the map, like in the middle of nature, in the ruins of an old castle, in a goblin camp, or at the foot of a powerful monster hidden in the heart of the mountain.
Raid Weapons
These last weeks we are reworked some of our raid weapons! Set up your cart with the catapult or the Gatling and be ready to kill your enemy and become the best clan on your server! Just BOOM all the buildings with the Canon.
Icons
Some inventory updates: we have created new icons to put in the game!
On the left, you can see the inventory news which concerns all the elements that we can loot when we kill and skin an ibex for example! The rest of the icons correspond to the different interactions that you can find in the radial menu of the influence chest
Digging!
Today we’ve made the first test of the digging in multiplier, being 3 starting to mine a cave in the mountains was very cool.
We can’t wait to see what you can do with this. How does it work? When a player asks to mine, we dig holes in the terrain then we create at runtime a mesh that represents the mined area.
One of the biggest challenges was to synchronize digging data when a player connects. The first solution we tried was to keep a list of all digging operations that have been made and play back all the digging when a player connect, but it was increasing very fast and we ended with thousands of operations and it was taking an infinite time to play them back.
The solution we decided to take was to divide the map into chunks, when a player connects we send serialized chunk data to the player and he can regenerate the mesh. This is still a work in progress and there is still a lot of work needed on it, but we are making the maximum to make something cool to play with.
Well that's it for today.
Again, thanks for all the support you guys, and be ready to help us with our upcoming Kickstarter the next week. Join the discord here!
Today is finally the day you've all been waiting for. Well, okay, it's not that day yet. It is, however, the day that we're releasing the official Tiny Life Demo, for free, for everyone, forever!
The Tiny Life Demo will be replacing the public beta both on itch and on Steam for now, as we discussed in our previous post about our plans for the demo. You don't have to read that post if you missed it, though, because we'll be summarizing everything in as much detail as we can here.
The most important thing that we want to say about the public beta is that you won't be able to download it on itch and Steam anymore. It also won't be receiving any more updates until the game's official Early Access release a little later this year. Since the Tiny Life Demo doesn't allow playing in Maple Plains City (more on that later in this post), we've decided to still allow players to download the last version of the public beta (0.28.0, specifically) for a little while, so that they can continue playing in their old saves until the Early Access release. When the Early Access version is released, you'll be able to continue playing in your old saves from the demo and the public beta as well, if you like.
Anyway, let's get on with what we have for you today!
Welcome to Demoville
Demoville is the first new world that we're adding into Tiny Life after our initial, and still very beloved, Maple Plains City. While the full version of the game will feature both maps on Early Access launch, the Demo will only come with Demoville.
Demoville features some beautiful creations from some of our amazing community members, who have volunteered to work on the world with us. We want to show off the full world here, as well as the community-created lots, as we think they deserve some extra spotlight.
Here's all of demoville, first and foremost.
This beautiful house (that is inhabited by the Nicholson household) was created by CringePotato.
This is Bluebird Café, which a lot of Tinies will frequent, maybe even including you! It was created by 8dat, who also created its barista, Liam Lungo.
And lastly, this is Demoville Square 2, which is a small starter home that you can move into when starting a new save if you don't feel like building your own house. It was built by DonZekane.
A Demoville Native
Along with Demoville, we're also introducing a new life goal to the game that'll only be available in the demo. The cool thing about that is that the reward personality, City Dweller, will persist with your Demo tinies if you decide to move into the full game with them.
As you can see, all of the other life goals are unavailable in the demo - more on that now.
What the Demo Has
As you might be able to tell from the screenshot above, the life goals menu looks a little lackluster compared to what you're used to from the public beta.
As discussed in our previously mentioned announcement, the demo will feature most of the game's regular content, with a few caveats that are meant to incentivize buying the full game if you're enjoying the demo enough to warrant spending money on Tiny Life. Here's a brief summary of what those differences are:
The demo only features one world, Demoville.
The demo does not feature any of the build mode and character creator items from the three Sets that the game has, or any future Sets that will be added to the game after the Early Access release. For those of you who aren't in the loop, Sets are groups of themed content whose art was created by a member of the community. The sets currently in the game are the Woodlands Set, the Familiar Attire Set, and the Fitness Set. The Early Access version will ship with all current and future Sets included without any additional downloads or payments necessary.
The demo only features one (demo-exlucsive) life goal, Exploring Demoville.
The demo does not allow importing or exporting any custom content or mods, and it does not allow editing Demoville outside of existing lots.
As previously mentioned, once the game's Early Access release is out, you'll be able to continue demo save games in the full release, or export households and lots from your demo save games and move them into Maple Plains City or custom maps.
We've taken care to explicitly state what content is missing from the demo in-game in all the places that it is missing from. While playing, look out for these little purple boxes that'll tell you what you can expect when buying the full game.
The Full Changelog
As with every update, there are a few new features and improvements to existing features as well, but we really wanted to use this post to highlight the content that is specific to the Tiny Life Demo. If you want to know more about what changed since the last public beta version, though, here's the full changelog that contains all of the info you need!
Additions
Added the Demoville world, including its community-made lots and households
Added the Exploring Demoville life goal to the demo
Added a default long hairstyle for children
Added a progress arrow display to skills, relationships, job performance and needs
Added the ability to clean out all of a fridge's empty or expired items
Added the ability to view a lot's opening hours by hovering over the café sign furniture item
Improvements
Made TVs play sounds when they're on
Improved performance when first drawing a map's static objects
Render with anti-aliasing on low zoom levels to create a mipmap-style effect
Made cafés require a food display case
Don't draw room content that isn't visible, improving performance on maps with houses that have a lot of rooms
Made it much more likely for people to go home when their needs are low
Preload emotion sting sound effects to mitigate lag when the first one is played
Improved the way a skill's max level looks
Enable gamepad repeats to allow holding buttons to press them multiple times
Made food in the fridge last much longer
Allow children to order food from cafés
Hide clothes occasions that were unused
Added a maximum amount of money for a household to have
Made it a bit more likely for choice prompts to be successful
Display a tooltip when there's not enough money to copy an outfit
Fixes
Fixed various crashes when loading save files with missing objects or clothes
Fixed the tile tool not drawing previews properly in some locations
Fixed a crash when importing a lot that was exported on a bigger map
Fixed tiles not being visible when using the lot movement tool
Fixed a texture region bleeding issue on chairs
Fixed an exception when trying to talk to someone who is at the border of the map
Fixed keybind names being moved into multiple lines even though they have enough space
Fixed lighting causing artifacts on some older graphics cards
Fixed color selection in the character creator not working correctly with a gamepad
Fixed no elements being selected after switching a person's age using a gamepad
Fixed cakes with candles being able to be put into the fridge
Fixed long life goal titles going under the abandon button
Fixed a crash when a duplicate object is added to a map and the map is loaded
Every single thing in the game will have an “Aesthetic Value”, a number that indicates how beautiful (or ugly) things are. When it comes to items/resources, their beauty number will change depending on where they are placed/located. So, it will be a different number if the item is on a pile, on a rack or when equipped. For some resources, beauty will change depending on if they are inside or outside. Buildings, on the other hand, will emit aesthetic value all around them.
When it comes to plants, beauty will relate to the growth phases. Dead plants will have a negative aesthetic value, for example.
Animals and settlers will also emit beauty. Some animals, like rats, will emit negative value, while others, like foxes and pheasants, will emit the most beauty value. Settlers' perks will affect their beauty, but also what they equip.
So, why strive for beauty? Standing in locations that provide the largest amount of beauty/aesthetic will make the “Aesthetic” stat rise and, in turn, offer a nice mood boost. Which leads us to…
Room Impressiveness
Rooms will have different impressiveness levels. These levels depend on overall space, the amount of wealth of the room, and its average aesthetic value. Impressiveness will only be tied to bedrooms, shared bedrooms, great halls, and shrines.
Because of this, settlers will get various mood boosts while doing stuff in these rooms (sleeping in a room, being in a great hall, praying in the chapel, etc.).
Also, mood boost will be related to the newly introduced stat called…
Comfort
The Comfort stat allows settlers to get varying mood boosts depending on the level of comfort. If a settler uses chairs for eating, they will get a comfort boost. If the area they pray on has rugs on it, they will get a comfort boost. Basically, better beds, chairs, and clothes will result in a higher value of this stat.
To spice things up and give you more options, we will introduce some new furniture: new beds, chairs, paintings, tapestries, rugs, mirrors, and statues.
And that is not everything: There is more to come in the official update release. How does it look so far? Wanna try these features now? Well, the good news is that you can! The update is live on the experimental branch, but you know what that means - there might be more bugs than you expect. Fret not, we’ll try to fix it as soon as possible. We have a dedicated subforum for the experimental branch where you can share your observations and bugs. Enjoy!
Obviously, if all goes well, a new update release should come soon. While you wait, we invite you to join our Discord server (if you haven’t done so already!), and share your settlements, game experiences, tips and tricks, partake in photo challenges, show off your heraldry and give feedback on the existing feature, or even suggest a new one.
The grand [Grand Golden Glory] Spring event is here! Sign in during the Spring Festival to get 51 free Secret Treatises. Oh, and the legendary glaive skin [Yin Yang Ink] makes its arrival, and the [Lord of the Sands] attire and the popular [Rating Rampage] event returns! Join in for a chance to get the all-new [Snow Rabbit] attire, Pure Spirits, Epic Hero Equipment Schematics, Legendary Artillery and other amazing rewards! May your victories be plenty!
I. Snow Rabbit Sign-In
Log in during the event to get [Secret Treatise] x51 along with the event-exclusive item [Battle Blossom]. Event runs from Jan 17 through Feb 9 (until maintenance).
II. [Rating Rampage] Available For a Limited Time
[Battle Blossom] will drop from Siege, Field, and Free Battles. How many you get depends on your performance in battle. Fight hard and well, for a hero is a hero even in defeat. Battle Blossom awarded:
Siege Battle: Victory: S Rating - 2-6; A Rating - 2; B Rating - 1 Defeat: S Rating - 3-7; A Rating - 2
Field Battle: Victory - 2 Defeat (B+ Rating) - 1
You can exchange [Battle Blossom] for rewards in the Rating Rampage event menu. You gain progress with each [Battle Blossom] spend, after which new rewards become available. Spend 50 to access the tier two rewards and 120 for the tier three rewards. You will need 500 [Battle Blossom] to earn all rewards. You can purchase up to 500 [Battle Blossom] for Sovereigns. Each one you get as a drop reduces this purchase limit. [Battle Blossom] will be converted into Bronze Coins after the event so use them while you can.
Partial Reward Overview: - Hero Attire [Snow Rabbit] - Unit Attire [Rabbit Fortune] - Epic Hero Equipment Schematic Crate - Pure Spirits - Legendary Artillery Chest (may grant Bombard) - Epic Doctrine Reagent Event runs from Jan 17 through Feb 9 (until maintenance). Rewards can be claimed until Feb 16 (until maintenance); you may still exchange Battle Blossoms for rewards during this time.
III. [Ink Glory] Attire Treasure now Available
Ink wash paintings are great for creating mountain landscapes. The legendary glaive skin [Yin Yang Ink] is here! Available for a limited time from Jan 17 through Feb 16 (until maintenance).
You can acquire it under [Attire Treasure (G)], and the chances are as follows: Glaive Skin [Yin Yang Ink] - 0.5% Sealed Weapon Skin (Previous Seasons) - 14% Uncommon or Rare Attire - 85.5% You can check the exact drop rates in the [Attire Treasure (G)] menu in-game.
IV. The [Lord of the Sands] Attire Treasure Returns for a Limited Time
Few are those who can stand against the Lord of the Sands! The exclusive legendary attire [Lord of the Sands] returns with a higher rarity! Get yours from Attire Treasures now! Available for a limited time from Jan 17 through Feb 16 (until maintenance). Note: The attire will be upgraded to its new rarity if you already own it.
Oh, and the upgraded crimson Lord of the Sands attire [Champion of the Sands] is now also available! Those with the Lord of the Sands can buy and apply this from the Customization menu.
V. Spring Festival Event - [Deploy & Defend Spring Challenge] Available for a Limited Time
The brand-new Deploy & Defend Spring Challenge is available for a limited time during the event. Go forth and battle in the newly decorated Frontier Camp!
1. Availability Available all day from Jan 17 (after maintenance) until Feb 2 (until maintenance).
2. Gameplay Info This time around, the enemy's forces will attack in waves from the fort, all aiming for the camp's commander. Fight fire with fire and accrue resources to bolster your forces as you do. But beware, more powerful foes will attack as the battle draws on, naturally, these will grant even greater rewards.
2.1. Win Conditions: Defeat all enemies and [protect the commander] until the end to win.
2.2. Defending: The battle comprises two phases: [Training] and [Trial]. You must defend certain areas against enemies within each phase. You achieve victory by completing the [Trial] phase.
2.3. Match Points: You can spend points you accrue to deploy units. This is your most vital resource, and you gain more by defeating enemies. Keeping a close eye on your [Point] gains and expenses is key to victory. You can adjust the rate at which you earn [Points] in a match, however, doing so also affects the strength of enemies.
2.4. Trial Difficulty: Trials come in [four difficulties]. You must choose what [difficulty] you wish to tackle when you enter the [Trial] phase. You earn the following rewards the first time you conquer each difficulty: Clearing [difficulties I, II and III] nets different amounts of [Battle Blossoms] and [Doctrine Reagents] of different rarities. Clearing [difficulty IV] nets you an exclusive epic title. You can check the information in the event matchmaking menu in-game for more details.
VI. Extra Rewards for Total Spendings Return & Pavilion of Glory
Extra Total Spendings Rewards Spend a total of 40,000 Sovereigns: Golden Treasure Order x10, [Astro Arrowtails] x1,000 Spend a total of 50,000 Sovereigns: Exclusive [Ink Paint Master] Title, [Astro Arrowtails] x1,000 Spend a total of 60,000 Sovereigns: Golden Treasure Order x15, [Astro Arrowtails] x1,000 Spend a total of 80,000 Sovereigns: Spring Festival Headwear Selection Box, [Astro Arrowtails] x2,000
The Spring Festival Headwear Selection Box includes: Ferocious Glare, Lord of the Sands Hat and Jade Rabbit Mask (available for the first time ever) You can check in-game for what extra rewards have been added to the Pavilion of Glory. The Total Spendings event runs from Jan 17 through Feb 9 (until maintenance). Unused [Astro Arrowtails] will be converted into an equal number of Silver Coins following the Feb 16 maintenance.
Treasure Essences will be deducted from the full price if you already own related components. Available from Jan 17 (after maintenance) through Feb 9 (until maintenance).
VII. [Dynasty: The Golden Silhouette] Discount Event Available for a Limited Time
Pay offs are 40% off for the [Dynasty: The Golden Silhouette] season's unit quests during this time! Oh, and there are great unit bundles to be had as well! Event runs from Jan 17 (after maintenance) through Feb 9 (until maintenance).
[The Golden Silhouette: No Retreat Attire Pack] (This bundle cannot be bought after purchasing the [The Golden Silhouette: Battalion Bastion Attire Pack]) Cudgel Monks Unlock Order x2 Grayhair Garrison Unlock Order x3 Unit Medal x50 Training Summary x2 Discount Price: 1,580 Sovereigns
[The Golden Silhouette: Battalion Bastion Attire Pack] (This bundle cannot be bought after purchasing the [The Golden Silhouette: No Retreat Attire Pack]) Cudgel Monks Unlock Order x4 Grayhair Garrison Unlock Order x5 Modao Battalion Unlock Order x5 Unit Medal x100 Training Summary x5 Discount Price: 3,580 Sovereigns
On sale from Jan 17 (after maintenance) through Feb 23 (until maintenance)
IX. Unit Sharing Event Launching
Unit share within houses will be available once again! Aid your allies in their Spring conquests. This time around, sharing units will reward you with [Battle Blossoms]. Event runs from Jan 17 through Feb 9 (until maintenance).
X. Limited-Time Permanent Kit Event
To aid you in the Scorpio season, we will be holding a Permanent Kit Event from Jan 21 through Jan 31. Siege and Field Battles, as well as Expeditions, will not consume kits during this time. However, attacking fiefs, pursuits, and rebels will still consume kits as normal.
XI. Ruin Exploration Event
Explore Spring Festival-themed ruins on the World Map during the event for a chance to earn Uncommon Doctrine Reagents and Rare Artilleries. You can earn up to 10 this way per week. Your collection count of these resets on Thursdays at 11:00 (UTC+8). Runs from Jan 17 (after maintenance) through Feb 9 (until maintenance).
