Aleš Ulm 1725 Posted February 23, 2018 Hi there, fellow ylanders! With 0.7 "Cheerful Characters" released, this feels like a good moment to summarize where we are right now. As we've said before we plan to leave the Early Access in the late summer this year. Compared with other games that went through EA (especially other open world games) this is a rather short time but we feel the pressure is necessary to make sure we get to a fun, stable and bug-free game as soon as possible. The development will continue very actively even after that - with the team constantly growing very likely at even a greater pace. So what is the situation now when we're past 1/4 mark into our EA schedule?Single-player When it comes to a single-player mode we've already fixed several hundred bugs, but most importantly we've managed to fix most of the critical ones that caused players to lose their progress or prevented them from playing. There are still some really ugly ones that need to be fixed and some that we've never experienced before still appear from time to time but compared with where we stood few months ago the situation is way better and with every new update more and more additional issues get fixed. There's, however, one group of issues that we've failed to address so far - the game crashes/freezes at some older AMD/ATI video cards. We've been unable to pinpoint the exact cause of this since it's very likely caused by something on Unity engine/ video driver level. We just want to let the affected users know that in no way we've given up on them - actually, we're about to send this to AMD which, hopefully, will be able to provide some help.Optimizations Then there are the optimizations - something that always takes a long time (at least once you've done everything that can be adjusted rather easily) and even though you still don't see any major improvements, it doesn't mean we're not doing anything about it. As some of you who are familiar with software development probably know, making large-scale internal changes takes a lot of time and effort, but it will bear fruits eventually. The first noticeable thing to come out of this will be the absence of the visible lag caused by autosaving. We've come a long way from times when only empty log cabins could be built, haven't we? (Victorian house courtesy of @Damemarianne) Multi-player The main reason for us to enter Early Access was to get enough feedback on MP and MP-related issues which is something that can't be done with a small number of players. Even though there's still enough time before we plan to leave EA, it's obvious that we would like to have MP fixed as soon as possible so that instead of fixing critical issues we could start focusing on making MP more fun. The truth is that there are still far too many issues present, many of which are very frustrating. But there's also some good news. With the changes we made in 0.7 we're now getting more detailed info and what's more - the dedicated MP programmer we hired some time ago has familiarized himself with the game code and is already working on some of the solutions. Speaking of issues: I would like to ask you (many of you are already doing for which we are really grateful ) that if you encounter a bug - especially a serious one - and decide to let us know, be sure to include your log files (if it's in MP ideally both host's and client's one). Some issues take a really long time to get fixed because they happen "randomly" and we have a hard time reproducing those. If you provide us with the log files there's a good chance we can find something that will help us identify the issue - very often the actual fixing takes only a little time. Dedicated servers Many of you have been running Ylands DS for some time now so during the next week we would like to start discussing with you what changes or improvements you'd like to see in the future DS. If you would like to test DS and are not part of the testing group, let us know via a private message. Gameplaye features As for gameplay features - the ones we're working on right now are mostly enhancements/overhauls of the existing ones (like the combat or the MP map) or ones that address some of the gameplay shortcoming you have been reporting (like no easy way of storing/moving your creations from Explore game to a new one etc.). Actually, the next Dev Diary will be about our updated plans for the features coming to Ylands in the next few months so be sure to drop in, read it and let us know what you think! And that's all for today. Have a great time, ylanders, and stay classy! 6 6 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V-Alfred 367 Posted February 23, 2018 awesome news, stay strong Ylands Team! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redcoat22 2 Posted February 23, 2018 My only wish is that the water (ocean) would be improved. Seems like something could be done to allow digging underwater without lowering the ocean. Great game guys!! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leo_chaos 23 Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, redcoat22 said: My only wish is that the water (ocean) would be improved. Seems like something could be done to allow digging underwater without lowering the ocean. Great game guys!! Yeah, would be good if the oceans level never changed, it's too big for us to affect it after all. You can use editor to spawn in the Terraformer to add water in game to re-level the surface after any digging, if you only use it to repair things that react weird in the games current state it's not cheating (imo XD) just restoring aesthetics and it seems to improve performance too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V-Alfred 367 Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, redcoat22 said: My only wish is that the water (ocean) would be improved. yep thats definitely in their to do list. Maybe "New world" is coming with that? I'm not sure, lets see in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redcoat22 2 Posted February 23, 2018 13 minutes ago, leo_chaos said: Yeah, would be good if the oceans level never changed, it's too big for us to affect it after all. You can use editor to spawn in the Terraformer to add water in game to re-level the surface after any digging, if you only use it to repair things that react weird in the games current state it's not cheating (imo XD) just restoring aesthetics and it seems to improve performance too. Can that still happen with a dedicated server? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedEagle_P1. 905 Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) Great to hear you are looking at multiplayer! Thanks guys! This game is great as-is. If what is in today works well, there is so much gameplay to be had. Especially editor and multiplayer. I know me and so many people who make servers will spam out fun maps in the editor for use with multiplayer once things are really stable. @stephenw92 *cough* *cough* Edited February 23, 2018 by RedEagle_MGN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeffersonGER 3 Posted February 23, 2018 Thanks for your information that sounds great, thanks to the hard-working programmers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baz Foobar 102 Posted February 23, 2018 Looking forward to further improvements in MP/DS. Thanks for the update. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vilos Cohaagen 16 Posted February 23, 2018 I really appreciate your regular update posts. Thanks for taking the time to write them. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leo_chaos 23 Posted February 24, 2018 18 hours ago, redcoat22 said: Can that still happen with a dedicated server? Ahh, not to my knowledge, only admins for the server would be able to do anything with it like that I think, I was on about single player. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Energritz_ 107 Posted February 24, 2018 On 2/23/2018 at 10:09 PM, Aleš Ulm said: Multi-player Speaking of issues: I would like to ask you (many of you are already doing for which we are really grateful ) that if you encounter a bug - especially a serious one - and decide to let us know, be sure to include your log files (if it's in MP ideally both host's and client's one). Some issues take a really long time to get fixed because they happen "randomly" and we have a hard time reproducing those. If you provide us with the log files there's a good chance we can find something that will help us identify the issue - very often the actual fixing takes only a little time. Dedicated servers Many of you have been running Ylands DS for some time now so during the next week we would like to start discussing with you what changes or improvements you'd like to see in the future DS. If you would like to test DS and are not part of the testing group, let us know via a private message. Sorry if come off harsh, i don't mean it, but this is getting ridiculous.. Firstly, either hotfix 0.7 or Fix the resounding issues with networking, related to lots of forum posts of the same detailed issues, with 114 error, network layer error, and doing anything difficult for the server to process causing disconnects. These are not random, many people are reporting this all over the forum, DS forum, General, and Tech Bug Forum, however we are being kept in the dark... which is even more frustrating.. I understand you guys are busy but there hasn't been really any sort of hey we know there's an issue and were on it, type of case mentioned anywhere.. I really hope we do not have to wait another month for 0.8 and even then we don't know if this will be fixed, 99% my time is invested into MP DsServer and Game play wise.. SP is like 1% for editor, if you count that as SP. I've had less than Gameplay time ever than before since 0.7 dropped. More transparency would be nice.. would make people be more calm about the situation. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V-Alfred 367 Posted February 24, 2018 1 minute ago, Energritz_ said: I've had less than Gameplay time ever than before since 0.7 dropped. More transparency would be nice.. would make people be more calm about the situation. lol funny thing is, I feel the same. In 0.7 I feel, I have less "real gameplay time" than encountering bugs. Oh well, in my mind I think, encountering bugs is same as discover new items or random structures, which is shouldn't be like that.. I'm totally agree with more transparency. And I hope the fixes don't need to wait until 0.8, because some of the new bug is pretty critical. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WijkagentAdrie 384 Posted February 24, 2018 Things are looking good, 0.7 really delivered a lot of good things! I wish the new MP Dev good luck, there's a lot of (important!) work to be done by him For a future dev diary, could you maybe show us some more "inside" things? Either things from the office/workspace where Ylands is being created, or digital concept arts? I'd love to see what goes into making this game and the processes involved Thanks again! Adrie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bojo2736 1016 Posted February 24, 2018 It would be nice to have an acknowledgement of the problem. I just got dumped out about five times in the course of about 20 minutes with the bloody 114 error. I have spent the last day trying to recoup from weird spawning issues. I have posted logs. An acknowlegement would go a long ways to alleviate the frustration level. I get it, it's early access and we are helping locate and flesh out the bugs. "We see you guys, keep reporting, we're working on it." 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kimbuck 746 Posted February 25, 2018 My I suggest changing the name of 'Ylands" to "the 114 network layer error experience" ..with the tag line " how to enjoy 75% of your game time staring at a circle on a light blue screen" Really, in the last hour i have had 6 crashes due to this error ...its a risk exploring as you are likely to end up drowning falling form your boat, and losing everything. Plus not having a working map. in MP.. you can sail in circles. The MP game gets to be unplayable ... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kimbuck 746 Posted February 25, 2018 Great time playing Ylands MP ... Only person on line ...suddenly everything slows ... movement becomes jerky ... then screen with stars.... wait 2 minutes ... log in screen appears with 114 message. Wait 4 minutes then try a rejoin connection successful ... blue sky ...wait 2 minutes ...circle appears. Go and turn on coffee pot for coffee...that will take 5 minutes... come back with coffee ... circle still there but loading oceans. bingo! there i am sitting down.. press w to stand up ...decide to return to base for safety .... take 10 steps ...freeze...check.. still only one on line.... wait unfreeze ... move jerkily with pauses ...ocean alongside is stationary the suddenly goes crazy with movement... been on ilne now for 2 minutes ... still only one on line ... take five steps ... freeze ...blue sky! ...go back to 2nd line of this post and repeat 5 times in 30 minutes. finally make it back to base... lock doors with spasmodic movements and log out for night . obviously playing mp at this time is just plain useless... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bojo2736 1016 Posted February 25, 2018 Yeah, it caused me to log off early aka rage quit too. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aleš Ulm 1725 Posted February 26, 2018 Hi, sorry about the delayed answer! Yes, we know about that and we're already looking into it. Actually we noticed this at the end of the last week but at that time we had no idea this issue was so widespread. I'm still waiting for our programmers to give me some more detailed info on what is going on and why. It goes without saying that this is the absolute priority for us right now. Also you don't have to worry about the potential fix being released with 0.8 - in the past we have released hotfixes for issues that way less serious than this. 2 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aleš Ulm 1725 Posted February 26, 2018 Actually, if you feel like helping us out a bit we would love to see your log files created after you get disconnected (if you have access to host logs it would be great to have that one as well). Thanks!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Energritz_ 107 Posted February 26, 2018 There's plenty of them in the Bus/Tech forum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aleš Ulm 1725 Posted February 26, 2018 Alright! I'm told our programmers have gone through that section already (and have received some additional info/save games - thanks for you help, everyone). Hopefully we'll have some more info for you soon. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V-Alfred 367 Posted February 26, 2018 17 minutes ago, Aleš Ulm said: Hopefully we'll have some more info for you soon. Awesome, don't push that programmers too hard, or they will have no life! Even though they already had no life.. But they're creating life!I know it's old joke.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ane 1213 Posted February 28, 2018 So we should be able to pinpoint the exact cause of the issue very soon, and a hotfix should follow shortly after that Thanks for being so patient, guys! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
[SFW]topper 2 Posted March 2, 2018 Hello there, I have a silly question, I have updated my servers to 0.7 and I noticed the server console no longer launches, only the tail. Can I have the console? It is a good way for me to instantly see what is going on. Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
