[color=#9966ff]Build Version: Reach Redesign update. 1.1.5.3.aa85c96
Release Date: 10/10/2018
For bug reports and technical help, please see our Troubleshooting Guide.
What’s New
The Reach Redesign
The redesigned Reach has finally arrived. Dark, verdant and dangerous, we’re very proud of it and we think it’s going to blow you away, especially if you’ve been playing throughout Early Access.
We received a lot of feedback in Early Access that the Reach was too big and too empty. We listened and iterated our segment designs as we introduced the Albion and Eleutheria regions. Each time we felt we improved the atmosphere and use of space but this left the Reach feeling rather lacking, which is quite a big problem considering it’s the starting area of the game.
Not only does the redesign address the atmosphere and emptiness of the Reach, but its labyrinthine layout helps create interesting choices when navigating to points of interest. Will you travel into dead ends full of lucrative discoveries knowing there’s a chance that the Candlewind may appear and make escape difficult? Do you risk a detour through agent infested areas to visit a Wonder that will lower your Terror? Should you choose the shortest route to your destination and risk encounters with Terror inducing Horrors, or should you play it safe and go the long way around which uses more fuel?
Just like Eleutheria the Reach no longer has an inner and outer ring around a central hub. Instead it has just one, larger ring that is divided into five segments and so each segment now has two Stations within it.
When importing a save file from previous builds you’ll see a notification informing you that the Reach has been regenerated and the Fog of War will have covered the chart once again. You won’t lose any story progress, but you will need to rediscover the entire region. We hope you have fun exploring and making potentially life or death decisions in the process.
You’ll notice that New Winchester hasn’t had a makeover yet and that’s because it’s tied into the opening game experience which is coming in a later build.
Terror and Nightmares
We’ve made some really big changes to way the Terror mechanics work in this build. The old system linked Terror to a quality called Condition, which rolled over each time a Captain reached Terror 100. This effectively meant we had a Terror meter of 500 and while you started to experience Nightmares as Condition ticked over, it made Terror gain feel inconsequential and Terror reduction choices seem unattractive.
In this build Terror now runs from 0 to 100 and hitting the limit has a good chance of killing your Captain outright. Even if you do survive, the cost may be very high.
We’ve separated Condition from Terror and renamed it Nightmares, since that is literally what it tracks. Nightmares is a quality that affects your captain directly whereas Terror is more about the state of your crew. Nightmares runs from 0 to 4 and can be gained in various ways throughout the game, but will always increase if you survive a Terror 100 event. Reaching Terror 100 with Nightmares at 4 will also kill you.
To help existing players cope with the changes we’ve added a storylet that will fire when you next load your save file. You don’t have to accept the assistance it offers, but we recommend it as it will give you a chance to get used to the way the new Terror system works.
Here’s a summary of the Terror changes:
[/color][ul][li][color=#9966ff]Ambient Terror now increases at a slower rate, approximately 1 point for every 20 seconds. [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]This rate will still double if you encounter a Horror or if you turn your headlight off, and quadruple if both conditions are met.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Falling below half crew no longer increases the rate at which you gain Terror (we will be introducing new consequences for low crew in a future update). [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Wonders now lower your Terror at a much quicker rate.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Docking at hub Stations like New Winchester will no longer set your Terror to zero, instead it will be reduced by 30 if you haven’t visited them too recently.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Other Stations now have a set of storylets that you can play once per visit. Almost all offer a way to reduce Terror, and they might also offer chances to recruit crew, gain rewards, or have other effects. [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]As your Terror rises you will begin to experience Terror Events. The higher your Terror, the nastier they may be.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]If your Terror reaches 100 you will experience a dangerous event that is likely to kill your captain. However, several options on the Terror Events give you the chance to reduce your Terror by a substantial amount in exchange for increasing your Nightmares.[/color][/li][/ul][color=#9966ff]
Fuel
Now when you run out of fuel you will no longer die immediately. Instead, you’ll enter a story event where your captain has a few tantalising options to find a way to keep going. There are many different things that can be burnt after all, but at what cost?
Fuel is also no longer available to buy at every Station but you can check which ones sell it by clicking on the Station’s chart icon. Plan your journeys carefully.
Fuel Efficiency
The rate at which fuel is consumed is now determined by your locomotive’s weight and that of any cargo and equipment it is carrying.
Engine yards now display a locomotive’s base weight alongside the Quarters, Hull and Hold capacity. Mousing over this icon will show you details of the change in fuel efficiency if you trade your current locomotive in.
Your current locomotive’s fuel efficiency can be seen in the Hold and you’ll see it change as you equip items, acquire cargo and use up fuel and supplies.
Supplies and Crew
Now the more crew you have, the faster you’ll get through your supplies. And while falling below half crew no longer increases your rate of Terror gain, we don’t recommend keeping a low crew count. We now check if you have enough crew aboard against your locomotive’s ‘Minimum Safe Manning’ quality. Expect to see new consequences for low crew in future updates.
We’ve removed shops where crew can be acquired at a whim. You can now recruit crew through ‘Opportunity’ storylets found at Station. Since these opportunities often leave you with the option of either reducing Terror or acquiring crew, you may have to make some tough decisions.
Chart
Since fuel is no longer sold at every Station, we’ve tweaked the information on the Chart icons so it now tells you whether or not fuel is sold at a particular Station. Click the Station icon on the chart to see this information along with the Station’s description, export details and whether or not new Prospects and Bargains are available there.
On loading an existing save file, or on discovering your first Station on a new save, the Station icons on the chart will be highlighted with a red exclamation mark. This is simply to draw attention to the fact that the icons are interactable. After you’ve clicked and displayed Station info for the first time, you won’t see the exclamation mark again.
Updates [/color][ul][li][color=#9966ff]A bunch of new Prospects and Bargains are available in the Reach. [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The Prospect and Bargains directional system has been reworked to take into account that Eleutheria and the Reach now only have one ring.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The Titania storyline has been reworked.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The Traitor’s Wood content can now be completed.[/color][/li][/ul][color=#9966ff]
Known Issues
Below is a list of known issues for this build. For a full list of known game issues see our Known Issues page. [/color][ul][li][color=#9966ff]Erroneous text can be seen briefly when moving between shops.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Several SFX can play at once when exiting to the Title Screen.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]When encountering the Storm that Speaks in Lustrum the Station icon will appear on the chart over its location.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Some storylets can overflow Crew and Terror.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Terrain on the Chart does not align perfectly on the segment borders. [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Patch notes on the Title Screen have not been updated, however the build number is correct - check you are on v1.1.5.3.aa85c96[/color][/li][/ul][color=#9966ff]As always, if you find a bug that’s not on the Known Issues page then send us a quick Bug Report.
Bug Fixes
[/color][ul][li][color=#9966ff]We believe we’ve fixed the issue where loot storylets were not opening on Wrecks, however if you experience this issue in the new build, please send an email to us with your save files so we can investigate.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The reversed surround sound has been fixed.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Crew and Hull will now be removed when items are unequipped owing to Engine Problems.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Locomotives will no longer become invisible when storylets fire during the transit gate animation.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Peacock wind and Candlewind no longer slow the player down when travelling in the same direction.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Peacock wind and Candlewind will no longer slow players out of docks.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Prospect and Bargain details and Station descriptions can now be found on the chart for Eleutherian Stations and Platforms.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]We’ve fixed the title of a Prospect for Langley Hall which referenced delivery to Pan.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]All Eagle’s Empyrean prospects can now be delivered. [/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The Regent’s Grave Horror can now be interacted with correctly as part of the Traitor’s Wood storyline.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]You can no longer recruit two Reckless Drivers.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The Reckless Driver will no longer appear at all Stations.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]We fixed an issue related to the Chorister Bee SFX which was causing exceptions in the output log.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Credits are back in game.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Correct change descriptions are now displayed when qualities decrease.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Focus icons now show on twists.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Prospect Accepted once again appears over the top of the card when clicking on prospects at hub Stations.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Success, Failure and Narrow Success once again appear over the top of the card when selecting branches with a difficulty test.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Level descriptions no longer act as spoilers in quality icon tooltips.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Quality effect messages no longer appear twice in certain storylets.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]The [complete] tag will no longer be seen in the tooltips for quest objectives on branches.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Values for qualities now display correctly in quality effect messages, e.g. An occurrence! Your ‘cheerfulness at Titania’ Quality is now ! will now show the actual number.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Quality requirement tooltips now deal with singular items correctly.[/color][/li][li][color=#9966ff]Instructional text is now displayed correctly on branch cards.[/color][/li][/ul]
edited by FailbetterFuzz on 11/6/2018
edited by FailbetterFuzz on 9/19/2019