It's been even longer since the last update. A little more has been done on the automation side by adding new ground ore veins, a new spaceship model that's an upgrade from the current one, and a falling tree animation.
Main highlights of this update
Falling tree animation
Here's a demonstration of the cosmorist cutting down a tree, and the animation that comes after it's cut down:The tree being cut down below is slightly taller (5 meters) than the tree above (4 meters), and even though it's hard to notice, it falls slightly more slowly than the tree above.
Upgradable spaceship
This is the spaceship that the player has once repaired:Here's the upgraded version of the spaceship:The new spaceship has these upgrades compared to the initial spaceship:
Reaches space 2x faster than the initial spaceship.
Converts mass to fuel at a rate of 1 kg / s, the initial spaceship is at 0.5 kg / s.
Increased fuel tank at 4000 fuel from the initial 2500 fuel.
Can handle more weight at 3500 N compared to the previous 2000 N.
Cost to upgradeFor now, these are the resources needed to upgrade from the initial spaceship to the new one:(3 3 24 5)The 3rd resource is a new one: Aluminum bar. It's obtained by smelting Aluminum ore, a new ore, but it can't be obtained in the starting plains biome, nor any cave biome below the player's spawn point. It can however be obtained in other biomes on Tierra, most commonly the Rocky Fields, Stone caves shallower than 16 layers, and the Desert caves.Plans for the spaceshipIn the future, it's likely that the initial spaceship will no longer go to space, and only be used to orbit Tierra. This would be intended to make the player explore other biomes for the resources needed to upgrade to the currently new spaceship, which can both orbit, and explore other planets.
Other changes
Cut content
- Biggest chunk of content cut: All of Matica, a bit unfortunate to see it go for those into mathematics...- 6 biomes on Surface biomes on Tierra: Savanna, Rocky Desert, Shrublands, Tundra, Subtropical forest, and Swamp- 3 Cave biomes: Tundra caves, Dry dirt caves, and Swamp cavesThe reasons for cutting all that content:
Note: All the content above is still accessible from saves made in alpha 0.22 or earlier, but new saves won't have the content above for backwards compatibility purposes.
Crafting
(1→2) is now (21→3)
Enemies
+ Dirt dragonfly (Tierra, Dirt caves)+ Sand scorpion (Tierra, Desert and Desert caves)~ Large cave spider damage changed to 25.~ Rock slime HP increased from 80 to 100.~ Cave crab animation changed from to ~ Sea crab animation changed from to ~ Cave bats now have collision, and no longer fly through walls.~ Further reduced the amount of coins that nearly all enemies drop from the previous update.~ Tuna HP increased from 80 to 120.
Ground ore veins
+ Coal+ Gold ore+ Sand+ Stone
Items
Resources+ Aluminum Bar+ Aluminum OreBuilding+ Dark Stone WallFood+ Blueberries+ Glow Fern+ Cooked Shrimp+ Raw Shrimp
Music
+ Stone caves, plays in the stone cave biome~ Desert, changed the track slightly
Player
~ The hunger now goes down at 1 hunger point per 3 seconds when sprinting, and the hunger bar is highlighted slightly red when sprinting to warn the player that it's going down faster.~ The player will now regenerate health at 4 HP / 1 hunger, and the fuller the hunger, the faster the regeneration.
Polish
+ Arrows now have a slight motion blur trail effect+ The mouse now has a motion blur effect extending for a few frames
Quality of life
+ Players can now change the settings while in game.
Sound effects
+ A beating sound for Pulsating eye enemy, and other enemies with the same AI.+ An astronaut breathing sound effect. Plays on loop when the player's oxygen level is less than 1 / 5 full.~ Some of the main menu sound effects, some changed to stand out more against the music.
Status effects
+ (Buff) Self glowing, makes the player glow in the dark. Currently obtainable by eating a glow fern, and lasts for 2 minutes.+ (Debuff) Reduced vision, reduces the player's field of view to only a few meters, where the rest is completely dark. Sometimes inflicted by a Dark Slime, and lasts for 20 seconds.+ (Debuff) Webbed, slows down the player's movement speed by 33.33%. Inflicted by touching cobwebs in the Arachnid cave biome and lasts for 5 seconds.
Technical
~ Switched from .NET 7.0.12 to .NET 8.0.3~ Item data now uses JSON instead of a custom data format.
UI changes
+ Added information on each resource, with tile densities depending on the landing site.~ Removed the exit button in the inventory. It has been moved to the new screen below accessible with the Esc. key:Confusingly, the bottom button takes the player to the main menu, and not the top one. Should've made the bottom button contain the exit icon, and the top one a game icon.~ Removed the ability to drag the windows due to bugs when overlapping.~ The tech tree is now immediately visible when creating a new save.
World generation
Tierra
Frozen plains and Ice caves
The already rare Magtise ore no longer generates.
Taiga, Temperate forest, Plains, and Jungle
Iron, Gold, and Magtise ore will no longer generate.
Plains
Blueberry bushes will now occasionally generate as a source of food.
Cherry blossom trees will no longer generate in this biome.
Dirt Caves
Lakes can now generate across this biome.
Jungle Caves
Increased the density of tall grass vegetation to make it harder to navigate through similar to its surface counterpart
Wilting Caves
Added some tall grass, and poisonous underground rivers to make this biome more treacherous to navigate through
Luna
All biomes
Gold and Titanium ore will no longer generate, mainly for balancing reasons due to low gravity.
Miscellaneous
~ Items that drop from breaking something in the world will now jump out in an animation in 3D space.~ Items no longer show a silhouette and the "???" text for the crafting menu.~ Projectiles now move in 3D space, and are now destroyed when they collide with the ground, or with a solid tile. They're also now affected by drag physics, and can slow down when in the air, and they're especially slow underwater.
Bug fixes
Drills will mine an ore as soon as it's placed down, and powered up.
Crashes
Saves from before alpha 0.20 on Aquatica can sometimes crash immediately upon starting.
Howdy fellow presidents, we got several reports that controllers weren't working on Windows anymore, this hotfix fixes these issues!
This hotfix is for Windows only, since macOS seemed to be working as intended.
If you encounter bugs like this and want to help us improve EYKO, then be sure to let us know either here on Steam or through our support email at: support@exceptionullgames.com
Note: if you're trying to play using a Switch Pro controller on Windows, then you'll need make sure that under your Steam Settings, in the Controller section, under External Gamepad Settings, that you have "Enable Steam Input for Switch Pro controllers" toggled to On.
Thank you for your support, from all of us at ExceptioNULL Games!
Our free-to-play demo provides a small chunk of the much larger, Early Access, open-world level. In this livestream, watch our team hunt and explore a nearby cave system searching for an old GeoCorp computer to download data. Learn a bit about the story as you encounter a few NPC's in the area as well.
We will also be locating and reading several of the newest 24 comic pages scattered across the Lowlands!
The wait is almost over - the release of the final version of "Diorama Builder" arrives on June 20, 2024! Mark your calendars and get ready to dive into an even more complete diorama-building experience, including the 3 DLCs that will be released on the same day.
SUPER DISCOUNT OF 60% PRE-LAUNCH OF "DIORAMA BUILDER"
For those who are POSTPONING the purchase of DIORAMA BUILDER and in the name of transparency, we will be increasing the price for the LAUNCH of the FINAL VERSION, so to encourage them, between the 13th and 19th of May 2024, we will give a super discount of 60%!
[h4]>>> Don't miss this opportunity, BUY Diorama Builder now! <<<[/h4]
We've been working hard to polish and perfect Diorama Builder, and we're excited to reveal a host of new features and improvements in the final release:
Catalog of native dioramas and DLCs Easily browse and manage your collection of dioramas (including the DLCs).
Shelf organization system Keep your diorama shelf organized and stocked with the dioramas you like most and are currently assembling.
Stamps to divide the different dioramas into categories Presentation of a SEAL for each diorama, determining its series for better identification.
Axis visual system for better camera control A new system to locate the center of the XYZ axes and thus be able to have greater control of the camera (rotation and zoom) at the desired point or object.
Option to hide/show Diorama pieces from any folder Turn on/off the visibility of diorama folders (parts) for a more focused view.
New system for going down and up certain walls (for dioramas with this feature) Move down and up certain walls of the dioramas with this feature, in a simpler and more intuitive way, to better appreciate the diorama's internal spaces.
News feed Stay up to date on the latest news and announcements from Diorama Builder.
Improved help system Find assistance quickly and easily with the improved help system.
Visual, UI, and UX improvements Experience improved visuals and a smoother, more intuitive user experience.
Performance Improvements Enjoy more stable and responsive gameplay.
ABOUT THE DLCS
Expand your diorama collection with the DLCs that will come out with the final version. Don't leave it for later, add them to your WISHLIST now!