Sneak Peek #44

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, fellow ylanders!

Today we’ll talk about some of the features and changes that you can expect in the upcoming update 0.7 “Cheerful Characters” - but before we do, let me just quickly share with you information about some of the issues.

 

Issues 

Yesterday we released a patch fixing an ugly issue where sometimes players whose character died in the game couldn’t respawn and continue playing. Also on Thursday, we were able to locate and fix another very annoying issue that has only recently made it to our “Most pressing unresolved issues” list - the one where creating energy circuits could, under some circumstances, lead to the game freezing. You, the community, made fixing this much easier by providing us with the saved game and repro steps (thanks, @spliff (DayZ)). We are currently testing the fix and hope to release it sometime next week.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to conclude our analysis of the remaining causes of “Host unreachable” issues, but we should be able to do so next week as well (I will keep you posted).

Now let’s talk about some of those sweet, sweet 0.7 features.
 

Trading

First thing is the trading. Gone are the days when you had to drop objects to the ground for your friends to take. Now all you have to do is - with their character focused - initiate the trade via the Radial menu and a trading window opens. There you can place what you want to give them and when both sides are happy with the deal the exchange can be made.

Since 0.7 introduces NPCs, it’s only logical that you can do this with them as well. NPCs ranging from lumberjacks or smiths to painting or curiosity vendors will have objects you might be interested in and will be able to buy items from you as well.

When trading with other players and NPCs you’ll be performing a barter. However, for some reason - in both the game and in real life - people tend to be rather unhappy when, for a perfect steel sword, they get something like one hundred coconuts in return. They may want something that they won’t have problems selling to someone else at a later time. Some commodity that is widely recognized for its value.

That commodity in Ylands is gold. When you trade with an NPC, next to items in the trade window there is a number. It tells you how many golden pebbles the vendor is willing to give for that item (if it’s yours) or how much they are willing to sell it for (if it’s one of theirs). If, for example, the total price of the items you're after is 150 golden pebbles, you can pay with exactly that amount of golden pebbles or any combination of other items to match that.

 

Sailing to new ylands (just like @Whane The Whip in his catamaran) in 0.7 can result in meeting some rather interesting NPCs  

 

A golden pebble is a stackable item just like any other. It can be crafted from gold ore or golden objects. You can, obviously, decide to store your wealth even in gold ingots, statues, chalices (or coconuts or anything else, for that matter) but their high value makes them less than ideal to be traded for cheap items. The fact that golden pebbles are solid items that occupy inventory slots introduces an interesting gameplay element. When you die you drop the gold along with other items and may lose it that way if someone else is around... You will have to think about how much you carry with you, how much to leave at home locked away ... and possibly even how much to bury or hide somewhere just in case.  

Please note that it is the first iteration of this feature and we will be closely watching how it works and will be ready to make any changes necessary, so any feedback will be welcome. Also, this has nothing to do with Coyns.

And what are some other things you can expect in 0.7 ?

* Based on your feedback we’ve replaced the aggressive blinking activated when player received damage with some more eyes-friendly indicator

* Improvements in the crafting panel: you can now see right away how many units of the selected item can be crafted with the ingredients available and how many you already possess. Clicking an ingredient shows you its own crafting recipe. You can see what recipes you have learned recently... and more!

* Some of you complained that the energy streams are ruining their beautiful houses and ships. In 0.7 those will be, by default, less obvious and become more visible once you have the Energy linker in your hand.

 

There’s actually much more we could talk about when it comes to 0.7 features, but let’s leave something for the next Sneak Peek. Until then you have a great time, ylanders, and stay classy!

[BigBoss87 68]

Thanks for this SP.

Keep up the great work!

[bojo2736 1016]

Are any of the NPCs going to be hostile?

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

@bb cakesEventually, yes - but not in 0.7. We're currently making some major changes to the combat system to make it more responsive and fun (that will be very likely included in 0.8) - we first want to finish this before adding hostile NPCs.

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

Any updates in 0.7 for the barrier, and any new larger doors/other new blocks?

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Barrier: it won't be possible for non-owners to do terrain modifications, create or remove energy streams and paint (there will be some additional features coming in 0.8 - we're still discussing how should it work with vehicles and ships)
Larger doors: not sure yet, but it's very likely
In general, you will be seeing only a few new blocks being added to the game within the couple of next updates - not because we wouldn't be working on some (actually quite on the contrary - some great looking stuff is being created ) but because those blocks will be released with the update featuring the new world 

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

Will we be able to add and edit (trades, for example) our own NPCs in the Editor?  

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Sure thing! You will be also able to turn them into quest givers  We will be providing some samples with 0.7 to show you how to do it.

[Kristoffer.N 1]

No news about being able to transport vehicles through the boats?

[WijkagentAdrie 384]

1 hour ago, Aleš Ulm said:

Barrier: it won't be possible for non-owners to do terrain modifications, create or remove energy streams and paint (there will be some additional features coming in 0.8 - we're still discussing how should it work with vehicles and ships)
Larger doors: not sure yet, but it's very likely
In general, you will be seeing only a few new blocks being added to the game within the couple of next updates - not because we wouldn't be working on some (actually quite on the contrary - some great looking stuff is being created ) but because those blocks will be released with the update featuring the new world 

Cheers for the answers! Got any sneak preview/info/rumors about flying vehicles?  

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Vehicle transportation: we know how to do it - it's waiting to be implemented, but we have no capacity to squeeze it in 0.7

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Flying vehicles: sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit more for that

[bojo2736 1016]

4 minutes ago, Aleš Ulm said:

Vehicle transportation: we know how to do it - it's waiting to be implemented, but we have no capacity to squeeze it in 0.7

Will horses be transportable too?

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

yes, that's the plan

[kimbuck 746]

Hmmm  would that  also mean its possible   for  predators  to  climb aboard  moored  ships!   

I have had  bears   sitting  on my ships gangway  watching  me ...also a mutant leopard  on  one Yland....

[Silwercastle 85]

Will the NPC's move/wander around or just stand a fixed spot ? If you thus build on a island they might drop in and use a chair or bed, take cover at night.

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Predators: Not really - at this point, only vehicles and animals that can be mounted (which right now are only horses) are planned. If you had bears sitting on your ship watching you then either it was a bug or the AI is learning cool new tricks (and since we have flying sharks I guess nothing is impossible  ). Or they just like you.  

NPCs: they will stand idle or wander around based on their setting but they won't actively use their environment. That, however, is exactly what we want them to do in the future.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! I'm not sure I'll be able to check this thread on Saturday or Sunday so if you post any questions, you'll very likely get your answers on Monday.

[kimbuck 746]

..and  we have  seagulls that have the  impact of a RPG  when they hit your  boat

[Desolation 20]

Thanks for all the updates!

I'm really glad that barrier will finally protective against terrain modifications. It was getting hard to keep finding my house under the pile of dirt

 

[Gritty Kitty 3]

Is there any plans to add more animals or more interaction with goats? I would love to be able to collect Goat's Milk and make some new recipes based on milk, such as cheese.

[Quimerse 18]

Great concept! I was hoping for a currency ingame, and themed vendors such as lumberjack or smiths instead of random commodity random appearance folks. It gives more to immersion
I have a few question regarding the NPCs.
Are the NPC vendors infinite source of materials/stuff as long as you have the gold for it, or they have a fixed amount of stuff( such as a vendor have 5 potion, after you buy them, they don't sell it for a time/any more)? Do they have infinite gold to pay you if you want to sell things to them or do they have a predefined budget?
And will they have buyback option, or they remove the item once you sold it to them?
By the way, i love your work, the game is awesome, keep up the good work

Feedback:
Could it be possible to have different prices based on geological position of vendors? Such as buying a ton of cloths in east to sell it in north to make profit by being a merchant wandering the map, working with the price margins? I mean, if the different prices spawn next to each other, it could end up causing an exploit (if its infinite resource/money vendor system which i asked about), but if they are separated with great distance, it could make some trade lines/merchant convoys possible (and targets for pirating in a known trading line :D)

*EDIT*
Oh. And will vendors respawn if they are killed, or are they invincible?

Edited January 19, 2018 by Quimerse

[Whane The Whip 99]

Looks like it's going to be a great update. I'm especially happy to see that the protective barrier will prevent terrain edits. Is there any chance that the PB will be added to the editor so that DS owners can generate Custom maps for dedicated servers? I'm doing this now and the options that I'm afforded with the editor (mainly with roles) are great options to have for MP in a DS, but the trade off is that I don't get to provide PB's for the players.

And thanks for highlighting my Catamaran. 

[Barsian 8]

Will be necessary to create new world in explorer mode to spawn NPCs, or they will be also in created world?

[kimbuck 746]

12 minutes ago, Barsian said:

Will be necessary to create new world in explorer mode to spawn NPCs, or they will be also in created world?

@ Barsian ...  unfortunately   you will have to start a  new  game,   Ales  advised  earlier.  But   its possible    to use   the  editor  function to move your  house   into the  editor then  back to the new  game  under 0.7

But  you cannot  move  yourself ... you will  arrive  in the new game in your   white  undies  ..and  look for the  house you moved across..

Check out  Keralis' videos ..and  also there's another  thread  about using   the  editor ...it  spells out the procedure

[Sethix 1]

Looking forward to the update and trading until my soul is no longer mine  

Keep up the great work