Deadeye_Rob

I think this is a wonderful and welcome improvement! Bows are the primary ranged weapon throughout exploration. It’s great to see them get a little attention. Might I revive some feedback I made years ago and suggest looking into the possibilities of improved Arrows/Bolts? Different types of arrows (Bronze/Iron/Steel etc) would produce a damage type/multiplier. Expanding on that, why not combine the alchemy system into it and allow us to infuse our potions into arrows? I’d love to shoot an arrow laced with ‘Potion of Flight’ at a rival play then watch them float helplessly to the stratosphere! ?

What a great set of tools and exactly the sort of thing that’s sorely needed. Great work!

I hope so buddy! You’ll see the phrase “Cautiously Optimistic” in a lot of my posts & feedback. My biggest fear is that 1.5 will bring some improvements to Exploration, but at the cost of something we all like (Birds, sharks & animal carcasses and crafting all firearms to name a few. These have all been cut over previous ‘improvements’)

Hi guys! I, like many of you are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming improvements that will hopefully revitalize Exploration and, as a consequence pump some much needed interest back into Ylands. The following post is a compendium of both my own expectations as well as some suggestions that I myself would like to see in 1.5 and beyond. The potential of this update is not just a better exploration experience, but it could be one of raw community creativity. Hopefully you'll understand that last sentence as you read through my suggestions and observations. Lets dive in! Make 'all' catalogue assets craftable As the title suggests, Ylands has hundreds of objects, assets and entities available within its catalogue. Many of which are uncraftable or simply unobtainable. I understand that the Conquistador armourset can be obtained from a random encounter but I want to craft it for myself and my fellow adventurers! ....and why must I be limited to just 2 scruffy signs to label my mansion? The catalogue has at least 3 smarter looking signs reserved for editor only. This should be a pretty achievable suggestion that would do so much for expanding Exploration without too much back-breaking work. We have a beautiful set of bronze equipment that most of us haven't even seen yet! And where are my guns!? I want to craft guns that aren't zirconium again! Planned Voyages - Public trading hubs With the newly announced importance of owning a ship, the idea of visiting 'other' islands to trade, conquer or exploit is now a tantalizing prospect and one that I look forward to greatly! One day I would like to sit down with my 'Lieutenants-Cough!-Friends' and plan draw up trade routes with other players. The idea of operating a busy trading port, visited by players from all over the world is a very exciting prospect! This brings me on to my next subject.... -Plan trade routes, buy cheap, sell high! Player/Ylands-Run Community Hubs Lets say that you've ran out of coal on your local island archipelago. Time to plan a trading voyage! You stock your ship up with cloth and other surplus goods from your plantation and set sail! You go to visit the biggest port you know! A place where players across Ylands meet to trade, socialize and sometimes, to live! -Trade your surplus goods for something you need with other players in one of the many larger ports! But what if you wanted to turn your little place into the hub of all trade? This will encourage players to think commercially, produce a resource that others will need and sell it for the best value. Maybe you could advertise it on a global map? Encourage visitors, let them set up a shop/stall in your town. Become a trading baron! For this to work there would need to be considerable changes to the barrier system and anti-grief safegards. The trading system itself is robust enough but to ensure that players don't need to physically run their stalls 24/7 I would suggest the idea of purchasable NPC store clerks to trade on your behalf. I would also suggest bringing back Bohemia-Run exploration servers to host and administrate over a large 'central' port. This would be my solution to the crumbling Playlands hub. Expanding Ylands Culture Ylands is a game that encompasses many people across the world. I can't think of any better way to honour this than to promote it via online exploration. The concept of meeting and trading with other people across the world is an exciting prospect. I would like to see this reflected more in upcoming entities and asset design. I would love to see ship designs from the renaissance-era orient. I also would like to see an expanded amount of beneficial flora/fauna that can only be grown in a certain biome. This would encourage traveling and trade across maps (eg. Tea plantations, grain, Sisal, Whale oil? Animal domestication is on the right track but more mechanics are needed. Breeding animals appears to occur over an undetermined period after I've gathered 2 tamed animals in the same vicinity. I would like to have greater control over animal breeding rates. More domestic animals would be great also (eg, cows & chickens. The iconic culture point to Ylands is of course Ylandium which is my next subject... -Some biomes and islands should host unique entities and crops that cannot be planted anywhere else. This encourages players to set up trade routes or to plunder! Ylandium and energy generation & Industry The resource that can propel a rustic farm into an agricultural powerhouse! I like the current method of farming Ylandium from mutated creatures. It works well and can be continued indefinitely providing no overly brave adventurer goes off and slays the alpha! =( What I would like to see is more applications for energy as a whole. I've seen designs for lumber mills and and windmills. Energy powered objects that would increase a processed resource output quantity or speed would be a great addition to the game. Steam power has also got lots of room for improvement. Coal powered energy systems are actually quite fun to build and manage. I often connect steam engines to buildings and rely on a supply of charcoal to keep my buildings powered. -Flintlock Trading Company Ship- 'Dauntless' - Coal deliveries to ensure no bulb goes dark! My Final Point I may well include more as time progresses so stay tuned for more edits to this post! So far the news on 1.5 looks initially promising. There is much to do and I remain optimistically patient for what is coming. The key to Exploration succeeding is 'Freedom', I mean the freedom to build, destroy and create whatever we can imagine. For this to work I want to create the whole catalogue of entities. I want to build a trade, I want to plunder, I want to craft and I want to Explore! I make regular visits to my friends plantation to buy some Magic Blossoms that I can sell to my other friend so he can make potions to sell to his friends! I want someone to set up a coal selling business in my town to refuel ships as they visit. I want to drink some form of beverage with my friends in a tavern at some distant port! I want to smelt my gold nuggets into coins because that's how most people barter! =P -Bring back my guns! Let me craft guns again!!! Thanks for your time reading this everyone! Please feel free to leave your own comments and suggestions to how you want to see 1.5 turn out. If you agree with me please let me know! It would be nice to have some consensus! Thanks guys and thanks Devs. Rob

Great Q&A guys! So I’ve got a couple of painless questions if I may! I am a bit of a blueprint fanatic! I create a complex structure on editor using block placing techniques that would be otherwise impossible if I were to try it legitimately on exploration. I then snap it into my blueprint database to use on multiplayer severs. ”Will I still be able to do this on a 1.5 map?” Finally, I noticed you mentioned that we would select a biome for our starting island. Now I enjoy the challenge of setting up a little home on the harsher polar regions. So my final question is this: ”If I discover a new island or biome that I like, will I be able to establish a permanent home on it?” Im hoping that it’s the case that this will be possible assuming that the island discovered is a fresh procedurally created one that falls under the authority of my own client. I understand that trying to settle on an island within another players map would be reliant on that player being online. Thanks for today’s update guys! I look forward to more information! Rob

I've made a post referencing the direct I would like to see 1.5 take exploration. the idea of visiting other people and islands is one of limitless possibilities and could rejuvenate interest! I would be grateful for the attention.

Flintlock Trading Company: “You Sir have my attention. We eagerly await further information.”

I’m assuming/seriously hoping that this is a temporary change in light of the next major update. Currently it’s a pain in the arse, especially as if my ship runs aground I’m pretty much screwed. Originally I would have to dig my way out. Ive also noticed that they’ve removed the ability to craft pretty much all firearms except a few Zirconium ones.

Here’s my take: I for one welcome any news regarding the development of Exploration and it’s a pleasure to see Aleš back at the helm. Here’s hoping that it can be steered back on to a more favourable course! With regard to this weeks Dev Announcement my opinion is that of: ”Talk is cheap” I mean no offence by this, only that for as far back as I can remember there has always been reassuring statements of impending exploration updates with little or no substance. The Watery Update was a particular source of frustration for me, but I won’t write another essay on that. I remain cautiously optimistic however that future news will reveal more tangible evidence of content. Ideally I would prefer these updates to be authored by Aleš himself as further reassurance to what we can expect.

I still enjoy Ylands when I play it (I emphasise the phrase: “When I play it). As I said before, it was an exceptionally hard decision to make that post yesterday. I have followed the dev diaries since the initial Steam release and enjoyed watching the designers reveal what they’ve been working on. Heck! I even have their portraits hanging proudly on display within my personal Sharegame! It’s that loyalty to this game that has compelled me to warn the developers of the impending proverbial ‘iceberg’. The facts, statistics, reddit and even this very fan base is screaming “turn this game back toward sandbox survival!”. The community can already see that the current course will lead to this game fizzling out into ambivalent obscurity and as such, they’re already jumping ship and leaving. I still enjoy replaying the original Ylands trailer: “It was the Mother of all storms”. That was the hook that drew us all in. Sandbox survival maybe a saturated market, but it’s still competitive. Take Hytale for example. It’s minecraft in every way yet it’s touted to be the successor. Why can’t Ylands seize that title? You have the foundations, build on it!

Great feedback, thankyou!

I’m gonna throw my hat in again if that’s okay! ? 1) Animal domestication - The ability to breed animals for farming purposes and greater uses for farmable materials. 2) More Power Systems - We have small engines.... where’s the large variant? The Ylandium recharger is a great idea rarely used. It’s potential is massive. Maybe powered crafting stations that offer greater yields. Power tools? Maybe generators require some periodical maintenance to ensure continuous running. Programmable logic components (See Stationeers game) 3) Better water physics - I hoped this would’ve been solved on the last update. I’d like to see ocean water physics improved upon to allow deep sea construction because who doesn’t want to live under the sea? (Cough! Bioshock Cough!) 4) Enhanced potions - potions and alchemy are great but could use more development. They’re widely unused in normal gameplay but could be expanded. Maybe mixing potions with arrows to create variable ammunition? 5) Age rating effecting ideas - Self explanatory. I’m aware this may affect the customer base of Ylands as a product but here they are. Things like beer brewing, a renewed approach to hunting/skinning animals. 6) Books and Literature - I’ve suggested this a number of times and sadly it’s not been implemented on the side. I’d love to be able to create and write my own books and scrolls. Minecraft got this one a while ago and it’s a very popular feature. It’s good that we can write notes but we want more! I advise you all to check out The Censored Library project on minecraft. It demonstrates the importance and power of the written word! Thats about it! It is war-and-peace but it’s just a few ideas bouncing around in my head. As a strong advocate for Explore mode, I feel at least a couple of these suggestions would mean so much for us Survival Loyalists and would also benefit the editors too! Thanjs Rob

I would like to put forward both a suggestion of feature and of general direction of development. Specifically I would like to see Animal Domestication. There’s a healthy range of creatures to see, but what’s the point of them if all you can do is sit on them or kill them? Bring in the ability to domesticate, breed and farm them for a much better survival experience. My other advice is that development has to direct more attention towards the Exploration Mode. It’s the game’s primary income source and quite frankly it’s losing its appeal because of the limited gameplay possibilities. I was hoping the water update would enable colonisation of the seabed. Instead all we can do is swim around ruins and the odd landmark. It’s a feature, whilst interesting at first, will become boring very quickly. Rest assured, I still have faith that Ylands has potential, but that faith is waining. Please don’t abandon what made the game a survival gem in favour of appeasing the mobile gaming crowd.

Hi Guys! I've been dabbling with the new Script Editor Animation features and it's spawned some interesting ideas for expanding the feel of the game as a whole. I have been tinkering creating various designs to test the applications of these new features. Of course it would be rude of me not to give you guys a 'taste' on what I'm working on. So in the meantime I am pleased to present my Duelling Pistol Set. *Box Open *Box Closed Using the rotate command (and a bit of trial and error) I've constructed a neat little display case that opens and closes upon interaction. This is a wonderful addition for any social club where grievances need to be resolved in a gentlemanly manner! I've not changed the damage values of the pistols however It would be Ideal to have a 1-shot-kill value if you want to have a proper duelling match! I'd love to hear your feedback guys! More coming soon! Here's the Link to the Workshop: https://workshop.ylands.com/asset/1385 PLEASE NOTE! Due to the specifics of the rotate command, you may need to re-tinker with the XYZ values if you wish to rotate the whole box. It's a pain I know but it's the best I can do for now! The Script is hidden in the Painting frames located in the Lid of the Box! Enjoy! Rob.

"You Sir! .... Yes You!" Do you feel the need to kickback and relax after an afternoons' worth of shooting? Have you bagged enough animal trophies to decorate the Berlin wall and now want to brag about it like a top chap? Then THE VICEROY CLUB is for you! "Private Membership only!" Located on the affluent part of the harbor quay, the Viceroy Club offers a private membership experience! Mix with fellow mustached explorers! Share your tales of adventure and your experiences of looking down on people! Compare your wealth, then laugh at the fellow who has the least! "Complementary beard cream with every Scotch or Whisky!" ....And once you're ready to head back out to terrorize some rabbits, why not pop next door to Frankson's Gunsmithing Shop where Viceroy Members are entitled to 10% off explosive rounds and grenades! "Showcasing the latest Dueling Pistols from Flintlock Industries!" "Franksons Gunsmith caters for all your hunting/maiming needs!" "And remember friends, If you're looking to rub shoulders with fellow sneering hunters! Look no further than The Viceroy Club!" *Sneering, sniggering, looking down on poor people and shooting defenseless animals in no way reflects the feelings/views of myself! But those bloody Rhinos deserve a shotgun to the face!

Love the update this week guys! Great stuff. Might I suggest some kind of underwater scuba tank recharging station? Oh and another thing that’s been negging me. Will water have their own set of physics? To put it bluntly; will I be able to build an underwater base on the seabed that will maintain a watertight breathable interior? My imagination would truly be tested if this would be possible!

Enormous update! Hi guys! This latest addition to my town is a project that I've been working on right from the start of the year! In fact, I chose to dedicate my time totally to it's completion even at the detriment of the Ylands New Year challenge. I am pleased to say that I feel that the work has been worth it! Presenting the 'Flintlock Trading Company Headquarters!' Whilst there is still a number of nagging little details to correct and complete, the overall construction of this massive building is complete. It features fully layered interiors, and a good, spacious floorplan. It is my intention to use this design as a home-spawn for all my multiplayer exploration maps. *The garden still needs to be planted and I will create a detailed design on the triangular roof panel at the front. -A side profile of the atrium corridor. Note the company monogram on the floor as you enter the building. -Another view from the front entrance. I would like to place a pixalated mural within the arched frame on the wall. The spotlight above would complete the look. -The book-keeping offices. All revenue from our town will be calculated here prior to storage in our vault. -This is inside our Safe Deposit Vault. Citizens can purchase keys to store their most prized possessions in the event of a server refresh. Their items would be carried over to the next map. -This is the second floor hallway. The second floor functions as quarters for the executive, server administration and suchlike. Notice my personal crest inlaid outside my office door! -This is the Council chambers. I always liked a grand meeting room for arranging big projects and ventures. I have used the new stained glass to great effect on the ceiling. -Here's another shot from the other end of the room. I have also used cloth to make some curtains, which worked surprisingly well! Thats all so far folks. There are a few other rooms i haven't shown either because they're not finished or that they're private. I still have some work to do in order to complete this monumental task and i may even release it as a explore-friendly blueprint. You will however, need to dig up an entire map in order to build it! Think of it as a type of end-game monument! On a separate note, I've updated the interior of the Viceroy Club. It also now has curtains and an improved floorspace for patrons! Let me know what i should focus on next! Thanks guys! Rob

Hey guys! I’m blitzing the forums this week! ? So I would like to propose a game idea based around the movie: The Hateful Eight. I won’t bother explaining the film plot in detail. In its most basic narrative, set around the American West; Eight strangers find themselves taking shelter in the same remote cabin lodge. They’re all connected in various ways that don’t get revealed until the end. What I want to create is a minigame where the objective is simple: Stay alive until the storm clears. there is one little issue however; One of the fellow strangers is a murderer! A session of the game will last approximately 10 to 20 Minutes with basic environment needs in effect (hunger, cold etc). At the start of the game, one player is randomly (and secretly) chosen to be the murderer. It will be the murderers role to eliminate the other players using methods that will not raise suspicion against them. As players will need to maintain hunger and temperature levels, the murderer has a wide range of opportunities to exact death ranging from poisoning food and supplies to sabotage of surroundings. Scripts could be written to introduce additional environmental needs such as thirst, sleep and even character-specific objectives (such as medicine dependency. If the character doesn’t take a unique medicine every 2 minutes, they will expire or severely debuff). Victory is achieved when the timer runs down signalling the end of the storm, or if the murderer is exposed and killed. This would be a great game to play with others, especially involving mic chat. I would imagine that this game would work best in first person mode. I can design the level and assets/props. I am close to useless however with scripts. Let me know your thoughts and even if you’d be interested to make this game. Thanks, Rob

Update! Presenting Tabop's little fishery shop! Built next door to the Server Administration office!

Of course you can! These screenshots have been taken from our Exploration Sharegame. I design the buildings in editor and then blueprint them in order to construct them in our map. We have a great little community with whom we have encouraged to band together and create a small town. The Viceroy Club is used as the Hub of our town community, but we also have a number of player-run industries including a Grocery/Fish shop, a Gunsmith, and a community Bank for expanded personal storage. I myself run the ‘Server Administration Office’ in town where the player base can raise issues or suggestions. we hope to expand as time (and hardware) allows! As you can imagine, we’re very resource dependant both in the map and in processing power! Ill post more screenshots as we progress!

Hi guys! Im a big Minecraft fan (still am!), and one of the most appealing multiplayer game modes I’ve played is a plug-in called Towny. For those of you who’ve never heard of Towny; let me clue you in. Towny is a Plug-in to Minecraft Servers that introduces a working economy and encourages players to band together in settlements, towns and eventually cities. A new player would be granted a small amount of money and released into the world. It is then up to the player to find a town and buy a plot of land, thus becoming a citizen of that town. This is where the real work begins! Owning a plot grants the owner protection from griefers and thieves. In return however, the plot owner has to pay taxes (set by the town owner/mayor) every 24hrs. Taxes are automatically transferred into the town treasury which can be used to expand town boarders. Every 24hrs the server taxes the town directly from its treasury. As a claim owner, failure to pay taxes will result in immediate loss of control of your claim. In effect, the town repossesses your property. Failure to pay taxes as a whole town will result in the immediate collapse and disbandment of all town holdings and properties. In effect, your town descends in to anarchy as all safeguards from griefing is removed! In order to build a functioning working town, citizens need to be entrepreneurial in their approach in order to generate money to pay maintain their upkeep. Town mayors need to balance their tax rates to keep their towns paid for without bankrupting its citizens! As you can tell, it’s a rather complex system but in effect, it’s a very simple plugin. My personal experience of Towny was great! I enjoyed running an ‘Ingot Bank’ where I would exchange Iron, Gold and Diamond with changing exchange rates including a small fee. My little business was very successful, I was rich enough to buy more plots in my town, with plans to open branches in other towns. I had a blast! So my final point after rambling is this: Could Ylands replicate this type of plugin? Could a script be written to encourage players to band together in towns to create a working economy? It’s exciting stuff and I would love to see an explore map hosting two island towns connected by a robust trading economy via the sea! Its a long read so thanks for showing an interest! I’d love to hear your ideas and maybe your pledge to try to make this dream of mine a reality! Thanks Rob

I would like to see some proper water-physics. I would like to create a structure that is watertight and will be able to maintain a habitable space providing the structure doesn’t take any damage! Id also like to see the inclusion of rivers and the ability to artificially create them.

Hey guys! What with recent events, I’ve been off Ylands for a good couple of months! But I’m slowly budgeting my evenings to play again! Nevertheless I’ve been keeping tabs on the updates and discussions. I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring on the upcoming water features! This update has been a long-time must! Im hoping to see some diverse aquatic life in this update and maybe a more detailed fishing mechanic (harpoons? Lobster cages) On the construction side, I’ve already created assets that could be used for an underwater base including some designs based off the Bioshock franchise. I’m hoping that there will be the ability to create functioning Airlocks. Lets remember, the majority of the average Exploration map is covered by water! This update needs to open up the way for exploration and colonisation! what are your thoughts guys?

I saw a Facebook post a while ago revealing that someone had created a working arcade machine. If the processing demand isn’t too high, maybe a few games of Snake would be a good way of passing the time!

Will all the extra content be available to craft in explore mode?