Dev Diary #26

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, fellow ylanders!

In the last Dev Diary, we discussed the issues that are either really critical or which you find most annoying. In the meantime we managed to fix some of those - those fixes will be a part of the upcoming 0.6.3 that we’re planning to release later next week.

Before we get to this Dev Diary's topic, let me just quickly go over what has been fixed so far from that list: 

* Player getting message about their account already being used in an active session
We found at least one of the potential causes and fixed it. Please let us know if this happens to anyone even after 0.6.3 is released.

* Characters starving to death while being offline
Fixed

* Ship won't turn after placing certain items on it
Fixed

* Ladders teleport players to odd places
Fixed

* When logging back in, new character creation panel is prompted
We found a possible cause and fixed it. Unfortunately, the issue resulted in the character not getting saved in the saved game, so there’s no way to get it back (everything in the game stays intact though).

* Inventory items disappearing at the end of the inventory panel
We have found and fixed some of the potential causes - we believe that there might be one more and are still looking into it - it has been "partially" fixed so far

 

So now to the topic at hand - the features and improvements you want to see in the game. We have received literally hundreds of messages via our in-game feedback tracker and from those we created a list of the ones you request the most. From that list four entries will already be part of the upcoming update 0.7:

 

* Many of you would like to be able to sleep through the night even when playing the game with your friends in MP

* Also many of you seem to be unhappy with how the inventory and crafting UI works (and point out that stacking isn’t working properly in some cases). It is difficult to see what new recipes you have recently learned, there should be some kind of sorting in the inventory etc.

* Since you’re using energy in your houses (and on your vehicles) you are wondering if there’s a way of making the energy streams less obvious so that they don’t ruin the overall looks 

* Blinking that indicates that you are getting hurt can get very annoying when the damage is continuous (like you getting hurt because of being hungry or cold)

 

And which ones were the other ones, that made it into the top list? Here is the rest of the list (please note that these will be fixed at a later time):

* Map
The current map is very basic and is not working properly in MP. Now the reason why we haven’t fixed it is that we feel it’s not very useful as it is and needs an overhaul. Don't worry though - we do understand that a good, useful map is a must.

* Transporting cars/horses on ships
We hear you, have already discussed it and have an idea of how to do this, so you can expect this in one of the future updates.

 

Sure thing, Keralis, we hear you!   (Courtesy of Keralis, video )

* Being able to attach small boats to a ship
This would make getting ashore more fun (and safe). We’re currently looking into it.

* Being able to cancel the currently running operation in workstations
We are planning to make some improvements to workstations GUI in general - this will be part of those improvements.

* Being able to smooth the terrain in Exploration
We’ll look into it.

* Having a new inventory container - a tool-belt to hold all your tools.
That’s definitely possible - chances are this will be already a part of 0.7.

* Making hollow ship hulls
The reason why we don’t have any at this time is because of several issues we would run into. We understand that it’s difficult (although not impossible as some of you have proved ) to build a lower deck on these hulls and so we leave this topic open. At this time, however, it isn’t a priority for us. 

* Pausing the game when you alt-tab from it
This will be fixed but it also isn’t the top priority for us right now.

* Showing stats for armors and weapons
Actually, we’ve been working on this for some time already. It will be introduced in 0.7 or 0.8.

* Adding more ship hulls and car parts
Sure thing, we’re definitely not done with cars nor ships

If you haven’t found your idea or request among these (which, considering how many we received, is very likely), don’t worry - everything is noted and after we resolve those, we’ll discuss some new ones.

We’ll talk to you again next Friday - until then you have a great time, ylanders, and stay classy!

[BigBoss87 68]

Thanks for another Dev Diary full of good things coming.

[Imager 10]

Adding trains with railways would be so cool. Keep up the good work on the game!

[MJxo 3]

28 minutes ago, Imager said:

Adding trains with railways would be so cool. Keep up the good work on the game!

I would also love to see trains and railways in the game!!

[V-Alfred 367]

One quick question. Can we expect fore-and-aft rig for the ship in the future?

I love building and sailing ship in Ylands, but with current square rig choices, it feels lacking. Something like fore-and-aft rig will be wonderful.

[Krzymuffin 3]

I have a few suggestions/ideas. Some might be outside the limitations of the game, but just some thoughts I had while playing:

-power tool versions of axe/saw and hammer (similar to mining drill)

-propeller pack tweaks (seems a tad OP to only have condition and not require fuel, folding up when not in use, different key to disable)

-half blocks (they would need to take up the full block size-wise, but having just a slight height would be nice for decorative touches, like lining paths)

-larger doors/gates (double doors, 2-story height doors, etc)

-holding down the mouse to continuously pick up items (vs clicking for each one)

-animal husbandry/ability to interact with the other animals (could be irrelevant depending on how pets are going to be implemented)

-horse carts or saddle bags

-offroad vehicles (as it stands, cars don't seem to be overly viable in Explore without clearing objects out of the way, could just an alternative to horses)

-collection/placement of water (I know this one could be VERY tricky, but just an idea for an ability to create ponds)

-more electricity items (light sensor, rotating light [for lighthouses])

-tree taps (for rubber/resin- could be a slow way to collect resources without cutting down trees)

-crafting stats/clarity (being able to know the size of the block/how many are crafted BEFORE being crafted. stairs for example, I had no idea crafted in 5s, and MANY times I've made the M sized blocks instead of small) <- I'm assuming this was touched on in the crafting/inventory UI portion

-some sort of despawn timer (having items laying all about around the world is taxing on performance)

 

Again, just some ideas. I know most of them are kind of out there, and definitely not necessary. My biggest gripes seem to be covered already, so keep up the good work!

Edited January 12, 2018 by Krzymuffin
additional text

[Raffix 6]

We need a potion to help us pick up large quantities of items on the ground quickly.

Or maybe just implement the CTRL modifier, if I pick up something while holding CTRL, it picks up all of those items in a small area at once. CTRL already works for breaking, dropping, destroying and crafting multiple items, why not for picking?

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

Keep up the good work guys! It's a great game with so much potential and I can't wait to see it grow  Doing my best to help people get up good stable servers so new users have lots of places to enjoy. 

[Kristoffer.N 1]

I think the Idea with being able to transport cars Sounds amazing and a deal breaker not to add.

[Scaffle 5]

Steampunk hot air balloon/ships thingys

[kimbuck 746]

Hot air  balloons  yes...    fired  by a brazier with   wood pieces or  coal ...   That would be    neat!

[kimbuck 746]

Also .. what about a functional  drawbridge?    it could also be used to  load/unload  vehicles  etc   onto/from  ships...     as well as  a safe passage  over a  trap  filled  pit  around your   residence..

[Gristle-4e5a1c0e661b6b1a 6]

Thanks for the update!

Edited January 13, 2018 by Gristle-4e5a1c0e661b6b1a

[mr.egomies 2]

Hey! Thanks for the headsup! My only minor headache is inventory sorting and as it is in diary " there should be some kind of sorting in the inventory etc. " it will be fixed, Nice! Sorting inventory with one button to alphapetical order and auto stack same items would be nice... from backbag to container, in container and in backbag. and ofcource items shoud fill first empty slots with that button ( my tic hurts when there is empty slots between items, it look messy)

Connecting ships together would be nice also.

 

[See_Sharp 13]

Great to see how much attention the ylands coworkers give for those playing the game !

[Bigglermon 18]

16 hours ago, Raffix said:

We need a potion to help us pick up large quantities of items on the ground quickly.

Or maybe just implement the CTRL modifier, if I pick up something while holding CTRL, it picks up all of those items in a small area at once. CTRL already works for breaking, dropping, destroying and crafting multiple items, why not for picking?

Or maybe pick up multiple items based on what's in your hand currently. Sometimes I don't want to pick up other stuff around me.

EDIT: Sorry, re-read your post. Agree with what you have said.

Edited January 13, 2018 by Bigglermon

[Vilos Cohaagen 16]

Sounds great! Also there are some great suggestions in this thread. 

[bdub174 2]

Airplanes and helicopter oh my!!!!

[Frumuselu Codrin 0]

Pls make the game to work better.sometimes i have 25 fps and sometimes 120 fps.i have i7 6700k ,gtx 1070 ,16 gb ,ssd and the game is unplayble..the differents of fps is to big..sorry for my english,hope you understand..

[Kennon_RPG 2]

As a creative idea, they could put a very large ship's hull, in the style of a line ship, in order to make exorbitantly large ships. =)

Thank you for reading.
Cordially a big fan.

[Chelestra1 0]

It's certainly not critical, and I realize it's kind of silly, but my sister and I are constantly losing one another in MP.

We thought it would be funny if, instead of tracking your friends on your map (very handy in a lot of games, but also unrealistic), you could instead have your character let out a cry, like "CAW-CAW CAW-CAW" and then try to follow the sound to find one another. We thought it would be hilarious and in keeping with the dynamic of the game as we see it.

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

19 hours ago, kimbuck said:

Also .. what about a functional  drawbridge?    it could also be used to  load/unload  vehicles  etc   onto/from  ships...     as well as  a safe passage  over a  trap  filled  pit  around your   residence..

I use doors on their side for that! Works really well!

[Chaoskys 0]

Thank you for your continued efforts on squashing bugs, we appreciate you and the rest of the team at Bohemia Interactive taking into account feedback from the ever growing community!

 

Anyword or news on the "host unreachable" bug at this time? 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Chaoskys

[0xL0wP0lyS4mur41 1]

For early(er) game terrain smoothing in Exploration/Survival, on Reddit we've been discussing either a rake or a cultivator for this function... and it would perhaps be nice if you had the choice/ability to make the brown dirt you filled in turn back to the natural/existing terrain texture when using it. I'm more on the side of rake for this feature. Though a cultivator may be a nice addition to farming (e.g. cotton planted in a "field" tilled with a cultivator either grows faster, or drops extra cotton, something along these lines)

[Lupowop 31]

Great work guys and gals keep it up!  This game has SOOOOO much promise!!