Bugs found during the beta period were very scarce, so for those who were playing the beta version already the changelog doesn't bring any additions. The most notable features in version 3.83 are weapon/tool hafting and the haft wear out mechanics, and pausable arrowmaking and tanning.
This version has also undergone upgrade of SDL and SDL_mixer libraries, which will hopefully prove stable and clear few rarely encountered audio oddities with some system setups and sound cards/drivers.
.....aaaand here's the changelog:
Version 3.83 (stable) changelog
** Saved characters from version 3.80-> are compatible with this version. **
- added: hafting spears, axes and shovels - and their separate heads and hafts
Axe and spear items now consist of two parts; the heads and hafts. Shovel item now also consists of two parts; the iron blade and haft. Wooden shovel is an exception as it's made out of single piece of wood. Haft refers to the wooden handle or shaft, which can break over time or upon damage. When the haft breaks the separate head remains, and can be hafted again. Hafting is a process of attaching axe or spear head, or shovel blade to a new haft, making it a complete working weapon or tool. For hafting, there are now new craftable "axe haft", "spear haft" and "shovel haft" items. In reality the haft shape and proportions do vary depending on the axe or spear type, but in order not to make things overly complex the two generic spear and axes hafts work for all the different types of spears and axes. The different axe and spear heads now also exist as separate items. For the axes there are handaxe head, carving axe head, broad axe head, woodsman's axe head and so on. And for the spears there are kaumolais spear head, northern spear head, and so on. Blacksmiths still sell these weapons readily hafted so the heads aren't commonly found on their own. When the haft breaks the head and broken haft do drop on the ground, along with pause prompted game message. You can then carve a new haft and haft the head to assemble a working weapon or shovel again. The broken hafts are of no use and are best utilized as firewood. Crafting hafts and the process of hafting can be found from [M]ake menu under a new [H]afting category. The following self-explanatory options are available there: * Axe haft * Spear haft * Shovel haft * Haft a weapon or tool * Remove the haft The first three options are used to craft a new haft, followed by the actual hafting option to assemble a working weapon or shovel. You may also remove the haft at will for example to replace worn out haft early on. However, removing the haft may damage it a little bit so it's not recommended to do unless necessary. Both crafting the haft and hafting task itself require CARPENTRY skills. The haft quality and success in hafting has significant impact on the finished weapon or tool usability. Poor hafting may result in lowering the item quality even below the head quality itself. Thus the finished axe, spear or shovel quality now refers to overall usability with the used haft, and the success in hafting. On the other hand, you may also manage to raise the finished weapon quality higher than the head quality itself with a perfect and perfectly fitted haft. There are new game encyclopedia (F1) entries for the relevant topics: AXE HEAD, AHE HAFT, SPEAR HEAD, SPEAR HAFT, SHOVEL BLADE and SHOVEL HAFT
- added: hafts wearing out in use
Hafts of the axes, spears and shovels now wear out in use, and will eventually break. Axe hafts wear out in all the regular woodworking and timbercraft tasks where they are used. Shovel hafts and wooden shovels wear out in digging pits and preparing the soil. Spear hafts mostly wear out in combat. In all the cases the wear is relative to the task the weapon or tool is used for. Thrusting a spear into a large moving animal such as elk or bear may put the haft under serious strain. Likewise, felling big timber is more strenuous for the axe haft than doing casual carving. The haft wear out level can be noticed in character's inventory with the progressing wear bar. Hafts are in the risk of breaking apart when they've worn to about 80% of the original condition. Accumulating haft damage can also lead to decrease in the axe or spear overall quality.
- modding add: new crafting requirement entries
{Hammering tool} This defines requirement for a tool that is used to hammer things in place. It's used in hafting an axe. The butt of an axe is commonly used as a hammering tool, but clubs, pieces of firewood or stones can be also used as a substitute.
{Axe or carving knife} This defines requirement for a tool used in rough woodworking and carving. It's used in crafting hafts to carve out their rough shape from a slender tree trunk. Axe is the preferred tool here and always the best option, but usage of knives is allowed as a substitute - even though they make the task significantly slower. The common woodworking axes such as handaxe, carving axe, and woodman's axe are the most suitable ones. If a knife is used the sturdy ones such as skramasaksi, northern knife, kaumolais knife or hunting knife work the best.
Both of these entries can be utilized in diy_*.txt and biy_*.txt modding at will.
- modding add: [nowear] and [wearpct:num] tags to specify haft wear out accumulation rate
Axe, spear and shovel hafts wear out also when they are used as tools in crafting or building tasks. There are these two new tags to customize the wear accumulation rate as the intensity of tool usage varies depending on the task.
[nowear] tag means that the used tool doesn't wear out at all. [wearpct:num] specifies custom wear out percentage rate (1-100) in relation to the highest rate (100) where tool is used intensely during the whole task.
Examples:
{Axe} <Carving axe> [nowear] Here an axe is needed, preferably a carving axe, and it doesn't wear out at all in the said crafting/building task.
{Cutting_weapon} <Axe> [wearpct:25] Here a cutting weapon, preferably an axe, is needed. It wears out in 25% rate compared to the continuous intense axe work. Maybe the axe is needed only 25% of the time in this crafting/building task.
- removed: hard staff and throwing axe
These two weapons have been removed for being somewhat anachronistic and not that important.
- added: pausable tanning
Tanning is now pausable task allowing you to have breaks and continue at will later on. To continue paused tanning simply use the tanning option again standing beside the partially finished item. This applies only to the last and most laborous stage of the tanning process which is softening the hide with a beater. The preceeding, faster processes of cleaning the skin need to be done in one go. Partially tanned hides will remain on the ground and can be picked up only after they are finished. They are rendered with a different tint and described as "partially crafted", "half-crafted", "largely crafted" etc. when looking at them.
- added: pausable arrowmaking and arrow shaft crafting
Making arrows and arrow shafts is now pausable task allowing you to have breaks and continue at will later on. To continue paused arrowmaking simply use the same option to make arrows or arrow shafts again standing beside the said partially finished items. For blunt arrows this means using [M]ake -> "Arrows" -> "Blunt arrow" option. For all the other kind of tipped arrows use [M]ake -> "Arrows" -> "Arrow" option. And for the arrow shafts you would naturally use [M]ake -> "Arrows" -> "Arrow shaft". Like the other partially crafted items these will remain on the ground and can be picked up only after they are finished. They are rendered with a different tint and described as "partially crafted", "half-crafted", "largely crafted" etc. when looking at them.
- changed: maximum number of arrows or arrow shafts to craft in one batch
The maximum arrow or arrow shaft batch production quantity is increased up to 10 at one go.
- changed: arrow shaft crafting time
Now that the making of arrow shafts is pausable the time required to craft one is increased to more reasonable level of 90 minutes.
- changed: blunt arrow crafting requirements
Now that the blunt arrow making is pausable the time required to craft one is increased to more reasonable level of 2 hours. <br> Number of slender tree trunks required is also modified so that you can craft three blunt arrows out of one slender tree trunk. Blunt arrows are now also prone to outcome quality modifiers, so your tools and expertise determines if the finished blunt arrows will be curved or superior or something in between.
- modding add: [yield:num] tag
[yield:num] tag is used to specify for how many produced items the single raw material entry is enough for. Ie. how many finished items it can yield. The tag is used in diy_glossary.txt for making blunt arrows as follows:
{Slender trunk} [yield:3]
This means one slender tree trunk can yield three produced items ie. blunt arrows. So, for example to craft six blunt arrows you would need 2 trunks. Crafting 7-9 blunt arrows you would need 3 trunks, and so on.
- enhanced: rendering of the terrain type images
Terrain type images on zoomed-in map are now rendered directly to the screen using the available resolution. This makes the images appear more crisp and clear.
- fixed: being able to fish facing away from the water
- fixed: companions performing some tasks too fast
Due to miscalculations in companion time counters they managed to complete some tasks, eg. felling trees, all too fast. The issue was mostly noticed in woodworking tasks, but you may find some other companion performed tasks also to appear in slower more reasonable pace now.
- fixed: villagers not reacting if you attacked a hired companion of their own group in their own village
- fixed: villagers accepting too many items if they were offered in one go during the first trade
- fixed: terrain type image not updating when climbing across terrain boundary
This happened only when using the climbing skill.
- fixed: the fish splashing and spawning despite of the ice
Occasionally you might find fish splashing in the water even at locations with ice cover. This happened if the water froze again after the spawning had already started in the open water.
- fixed: Bewitched Wolf quest not generating correctly
This quest might have been missing for few versions, so enjoy if it now comes your way.
- fixed: triggered item traps remaining in set status
This might rarely happen with loop snares and paw-boards. The graphics also show the traps being set and ready, despite of the fact that they were actually triggered already.
- fixed: placing any items to a pine tree with bear skull produced the bear skull placement message
We’re pleased to announce that the Hungarian aircraft line is going to be added to the Italian aircraft tree in the next major update called Alpha Strike, which continues the development of Hungarian vehicles being added to the game. Let’s dive in and take a look!
Brief history of the Hungarian Air Force
[expand type=details] Initially the Hungarian Air Force was founded in 1918 where it was made up of aircraft left over from WWI. In 1920 however, the Treaty of Trianon was signed between Hungary and the Allies that prevented Hungary from producing and using any aircraft. Despite this, they still opted to rebuild their air force in secret where it was eventually discovered in 1938 that this had been going on.
Hungary fought in several WWII battles including the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and the Invasion of Yugoslavia where their air force took part mostly using German and Italian aircraft. Hungary’s highest scoring Ace of WWII was Dezső Szentgyörgyi, having had 30 confirmed victories against Soviet and U.S. aircraft.
After WWII and the Battle for Hungary in 1945, Soviet influence played a significant role in the country. Hungary was given several WWII-era aircraft that had survived the war, including the Yak-9P, Tu-2 and IL-10 which remained in service into the 50s. This was until moving to Soviet jet fighters such as the MiG-15, MiG-17 and MiG-29 that were used throughout the Cold War. Currently, Hungary’s flagship jet fighter is the JAS39C which has been in service since the early 2000s. [/expand]
Meet Hungary’s Aircraft line!
We’ve prepared a selection of interesting aircraft from WWII and the Cold War. Take a look at what’s awaiting you in this line!
Some of Hungary’s WWII aircraft were delivered to the Hungarian Air Force after the end of the war. First up is the famous Yak-9P and IL-10, as well as the Tu-2 bomber. These Soviet classics are going to bring the powerful 37 mm and 20 mm cannons, plus FAB bombing options that can be enjoyed in different game modes!
As for post-war, the Hungarian Air Force operated several interesting aircraft that are coming to the game: the MiG-15bis, MiG-17PF, IL-28, MiG-21MF, MiG-21bis-SAU, MiG-23MF, Su-22M3 and the MiG-29 9-12B! It’s these aircraft that are going to play a key role in enhancing Italy’s ground force lineups and will complement Hungarian tanks that are already in the game thanks to their additional bomb attacking options. In addition to this, they’re going to be fun in air battles thanks to their great top speeds and great air-to-air missile capability!
To top it all off is the JAS39C which is going to become the flagship jet for the Hungarian line! Still in service with the Hungarian Air Force today, this aircraft is going to be the one you’re going to want to get. Fast, maneuverable and the option for different types of air and bomb attack weapons including 6 x AIM-9M’s is exactly what you can look forward to.
This is just the start, as we have plans to implement other Hungarian aircraft in the future as well!
Make sure that you take a look at the addition of Hungarian aircraft in the Italian tree in the next major update called Alpha Strike, which is the first major of 2024, as there’s plenty to research and have fun with. With that, we’ve reached the end of this dev blog — stay tuned to the news where we’ll be unveiling other exciting vehicles that will soon be arriving!
Howdy! We just launched our Ultimate Chicken plush on Makeship! This extremely round plush is the perfect trophy to remind everyone how much better at winning you are. 🐔🏆
It's only available for a limited time, so grab your cuddly champion before it’s gone!
Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Preview channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.
General
Restored the application framerate graph as the default graph in the performance overlay. The new frame timing graph is still visible in overlay level 4.
The Sims™ 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack is here! Engage with a new skill that will have your Sim collecting materials and customizing pieces to wear, gift, or sell. These gems don’t just look radiant – when charged in the moonlight they can affect Sims’ moods, relationships, careers, and lives!
The quality of the jewelry your Sim crafts will depend on their Gemology skill level, and the customizations are up to you! Try different combinations of colorful gems and metals.
Supercharging gems or crafted jewelry in the moonlight will give your creations special effects. They might help the wearer succeed in their career, overcome a negative moodlet, or even help progress a relationship.
There are 11 possible cuts and 27 possible effects. Crafted jewelry can be worn, gifted, or sold.
Buy The Sims™ 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack today!
*Requires The Sims 4 & all game updates. For PC, see minimum system requirements for the pack.
You have learned more about several aspects of the Test Drive Unlimited experience over the last few months. Whether it's cruising with The Cruiser or competitive racing with The Racer, you must have recognized yourself in one of these playstyles! Today, we're going to look at another approach to TDU with The Explorer, which offers a way to explore the hidden side of Hong Kong Island: diverse and lush environments full of surprises and items to collect. In this Winter Update, we also want to address some important topics, including some of your questions and the current state of the game's development. Happy reading!
MORE DETAILS ABOUT EXPLORATION
In the latest trailer, "The Explorer", you are taken off the beaten track and shown the world you can endlessly explore on Hong Kong Island. Whether you're behind the wheel of a heavy-duty Ford Raptor F-150, which is designed for rougher roads; the legendary 1980s off-road Lancia Delta Integrale; or even the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo, which combines performance and the latest technology, you'll feel like you're driving around a picture-perfect postcard.
From beaches to forests to mountains, Hong Kong Island has as many different landscapes to explore as it has treasures to find. Alone or with friends, you can set out to find nearly 300 items (collectibles), including rewards like Solar Coins, Reputation, clan Influence, and special objects. You should also pay attention to the wreck radar, which alerts you when a recoverable car part is nearby. Collect them all to assemble two exclusive cars. You can only add these two cars once you've found all the parts, which are scattered around the island. As well as the fun of discovering unique landscapes rarely seen in racing games, exploration also offers valuable rewards for your in-game progression.
The more observant among you will have noticed the absence of particle effects, especially dust and splashes on gravel roads. We're still working on integrating and optimizing these effects. It's an important element of off-road immersion but also resource- and performance-intensive. Our current development goal for this is to find the best balance between particle effects and performance while ensuring smooth gameplay remains a priority. Although we can display long dust trails like in the WRC games with the KT Engine, the scale of Hong Kong Island and the resources required to display other players and the detailed environments means it's much more of a challenge in TDUSC.
THE MMO AT THE HEART OF THE TDU EXPERIENCE
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown wants to bring car enthusiasts together for a social and lifestyle experience that goes beyond the game. The vision is that a love of cars is a shared passion: between friends, family, colleagues, and other enthusiasts.
In TDUSC, this shared passion can be experienced in different ways: cruising, exploring, racing, etc. While driving, you always have other players around you, which creates a living, breathing city. In TDU, this love of cars is also experienced in the social aspect of dealerships and workshops where you can chat about your next purchase, the car of your dreams, and how you're going to customize or upgrade it.
The Solar Hotel (see Solar Club Letter #3) and clan HQs were also created as living areas and meeting places. For various reasons, these social features require an infrastructure that is constantly connected to online databases: leaderboards, races, inventories, moderation, live events, anti-cheat measures, and the overall game experience. An internet connection is therefore required to play TDUSC.
THE HOME STRETCH
Most of TDU's gameplay has been implemented and is currently being finalized. But there are lots of big challenges that the development team is working on. To give you some idea of the work involved, it needed over three years to create Hong Kong Island at 1:1 scale and its road network, and to include all the details in off-road areas and the island's hidden corners. As another example, fully integrating a car model with TDU-quality level of detail can take up to four months. This includes detailed modelling to meet manufacturer requirements, adding details for maximum immersion while driving (including interior lighting with some models), unique animations (such as reclining roofs for cabriolets), physics for every road surface, engine sounds, upgrades… It's a huge amount of work to provide the most enjoyable and authentic game possible. Each car model is evaluated and tested multiple times to ensure each car provides specific sensations and a unique driving experience.
We have made significant progress in recent months, especially because of your participation and feedback/suggestions in response to our communications (TDU Connect, trailers, Solar Club Letters, Discord discussions and on our social media channels in general). We have been conducting more tests to test the power and stability of servers so that we can gradually reflect real-world launch conditions. Server infrastructure for an MMO like TDUSC is a major challenge. Hundreds of thousands of players are expected, and we are working hard to mitigate risks associated with technical problems.
We also know that you want a launch date, and we understand your eagerness. We share your eagerness. Although a launch date has been considered several times, we want to take the time needed to ensure that your experience of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is as smooth, stable and fun as can be. Many of you have already pointed this out to us: take the time to release a game that matches your expectations. That's why we're working flat out on several aspects, including the stability of the server infrastructure and optimizing the game's performance. When we feel like these two areas are stable, we'll be delighted to share the long-awaited launch date with you, then cross the finish line and start our long adventure together.
In the meantime, more test phases will be started soon, including Closed Playtest 3, which will be bigger in scope and in larger territories.
We hope this letter clarifies the current status of TDUSC for you and what the next major steps are. Players, creators, enthusiasts and our teams are closely monitoring your discussions, videos, analyses and other thoughts on all our social media channels. Although we can't always answer, all your reactions are incredibly valuable, and we make sure we focus on them during development of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.
If you somehow missed it the first time, you're in for a treat!
It's been a whole year since you stormed Dracula's Castle on a new quest, met famous heroes, fought classic monsters with iconic weapons and confronted Death & Dracula in epic boss battles, all backed by original and re-imagined tunes!
And to celebrate this joyous occasion, we've dropped the price on the base game and all DLC, including Return to Castlevania!
There's no better time to storm the castle and take the fight to old Dracula himself.
What you can expect...
Castle Outskirts
Before you can enter Dracula's Castle, you'll need to venture through the gardens, across the moat and up the ramparts while avoiding traps and fighting off countless evil minions.
Don't get distracted by the view and keep your eyes peeled for hidden pathways, secret rooms and a certain energetic feline...
Dracula's Castle
Moonlight streaming through stained glass windows. Ornate pillars holding up ceilings of magnificent halls. Towering spires pushing into the night sky over fortified battlements.
The beauty of Dracula's Castle hides a dark heart, as undead creatures wait to pounce from every direction. Make your way from the entrance hall to the top of the castle and find the lair of the most powerful vampire of them all...
Boss Fights
This DLC comes with not 1, but 3 new bosses! Death and Dracula take no prisoners and you are no exception. Be prepared for epic battles against majestic backdrops where the winner takes it all...
If you manage to beat these two creatures then prepare yourself for our most ambitious boss showdown yet!
Weapons
14 new weapons can be won in this DLC, like the Vampire Killer, Throwing Axe & Holy Water. Each classic Castlevania item has been translated into the fast-paced combat of Dead Cells while keeping their original essence.
Wield whips, crosses and holy powers to carve your way through hordes of the undead and tame the evil powers of the night.
Richter Mode
Hidden somewhere in the castle is a bizarre room that turns you into the indomitable vampire hunter, Richter Belmont!
Unlocking a moveset inspired by his appearance in Symphony of the Night, you'll storm through a section of the castle finding vania moves and classic weapons that will push all the nostalgia buttons.
Soundtrack
We're giving you access to an alternative soundtrack made of 51 of the original Castlevania tunes, that can be heard across the entire game.
On top of this, we've taken the 12 most iconic tracks, such as Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears and Simon Belmont's Theme, and reimagined them in the style of Dead Cells as a soundtrack for this DLC, while preserving the Castlevania ambiance of course.
Outfits
Unlock 20 outfits as you progress through the castle, letting you roleplay as all your favourite characters like Alucard, Richter Belmont, Simon Belmont, Maria Renard, Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, or even Dracula!
Added a new room to "Fist Fight". This room should teach the players that they can hold the momentum from a player-punch-block as long as the mouse is held even if the block moves off screen, which is required knowledge for the following room.