Dev Diary #167 Fixing Exploration

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

Hey there, fellow ylanders.

Today I would like to continue talking about some of the concerns you have voiced and the problems that you’ve faced.

One of the most common complaints was about the quality of the servers; progress being lost or wiped. I know this did happen quite often in the past (especially with Exploration games after 1.5 - that’s one of the reasons Exploration was marked as “experimental”) but with several fixes released post 1.5, we believe this shouldn’t happen anymore. There still may be some hidden bugs that under some circumstances require a server restart, but I promise we'll do our best to eliminate these as well. Due to how the game works now, even if a restart happens - in no case should the player lose more than around 10 minutes of the progress. If your current experience differs, please let us know on our forums and feel free to PM me. I will do my best to help you with that.

Another thing I promised to talk about is the size of the Ylands community. By focusing on the platform more than on Exploration in the last few years we've lost a lot of the players we initially had. We also made some unpopular decisions such as going F2P, that caused the community to shrink further. At the same time, we didn’t really try actively to bring more players to Exploration because we wanted to fix it, improve it ... but never really got to it until now.

So our plan right now is to release 1.6 before the end of this month. This update will bring a lot of cool new features to Exploration and fix many of the issues you've reported (missing smoothing tool, overpowered propeller pack, and more). We hope that by fixing and improving Exploration, we will eventually get to an amazing experience that you all be happy with. We have already started working on two major features for 1.7, which are directly based on your feedback and will, without any doubt, make Exploration much better and closer to what we all want it to be. We will start talking with you about those immediately after 1.6 is released.

We are so confident about 1.7 being a major Exploration improvement that we are planning to actively start bringing players into Ylands again. At that point we would like to ask those who have left at any point, disappointed by the state of the game, to come back and see what we’ve done with it with the last 3 updates. At the same time, we will let even those who don’t own Exploration to try it in a limited way (currently we’re thinking of limiting them to their starting yland, however, we will allow other players to visit them - if they own the DLC).

So that’s our plan. I understand the disappointment of those who were more interested in Exploration than Editor, but I truly believe that if they spare a few minutes to check out the new Exploration this summer, they will be pleasantly surprised.

That's it for today - next week I will tell you more about what great Exploration features you can expect in update 1.6. Until then, as always... stay healthy and classy, ylanders!

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

I really enjoyed reading this sincere sounding Dev Diary. I'm glad you're still working on Ylands and are actively making changes to restore Exploration. I never left this forum but I have not played as much recently as I did before. Last few updates were just tested by me for one afternoon or two, but I'm really looking forward to 1.6 and 1.7. I may give it a go with a proper new world. 

 

50 minutes ago, Aleš Ulm said:

At the same time, we will let even those who don’t own Exploration to try it in a limited way (currently we’re thinking of limiting them to their starting yland, however, we will allow other players to visit them - if they own the DLC).

This sounds very interesting! I was one of those concerned about transition to f2p and Explore sidetracked by not being in the main game but in the form of a DLC. But this potential new incorporation of Exploration to the free game with "pay if you enjoy" model is promising! 

I'm really sorry for the loss of a portion of players but I wish the best luck to you and the game. For brighter days of Ylands ☀

[JohnMFSteel 93]

Might consider also allowing them to visit player's multiplayer ylands in the starting zones so they can potentially get inspired by creations.

Super excited about the update ?

[Hezim 7]

I'll just say what me and my friends discussed and really wanted to get improved in exploration.

 

1. Propeller is way powerful we got attacked by some players the fight happened in the skies we really want to see some way of balance so players dont just fight in the skyes.

2. multiplayer server is way too small with limit of max 8 players, try and increases this number especially if you guys plan to make local maps much much bigger.

3. caves are boring, too small and always feel the same.

4. add some sort of world bosses random in caves seas and land.

5. maybe add coldown to summon/unsmmon ships. why? one of the episods we had when we started playing exploration we dident hit the propeller then we started exploring we got atacked by one player he started shooting at us from his ship then he used the propeller and we could not do anything about it, we tryed to board his ship but he unsummon it.

6. One of the coolest thing in exploration is building a ship and start exploring the world, but it gets boring especially in the seas feels pretty empty. mabey add npc pirate ships that atack players or monsters in the sea.

Btw all this are just som ideas and some things we would of loved to be ingame.

Keep up the good work ?

Ps. Sorry for my english

[ocnoglittle 760]

Will we get a chance to test 1.6 before it is released? Like we were able to for the last few updates?

[spiritchaser28 920]

Awesome news all around and a few good suggestions as well

I know the team at Bohemia is working on many previous suggestions people have made in the past. I'd like to make a couple more that have not been mentioned or talked about much for future update ideas.

I think it might be fun if people were allowed to choose their starting region in exploration. Imagine starting the whole adventure in the Arctic or Taiga/Tundra and all the challenges that a person could enjoy.

One other suggestion is to remove the amount of blueprints a person is allowed to have. The current cap for amount of blueprints is 50. Before 1.5 I had waaaaay more than 50 blueprints at my disposal. Now if I want to make a new blueprint, I have to remove another. This forces me to actually take the files in the game and place all of them in another folder that is not accessed in the game so I can keep all the blueprints without deleting them.....and if I wish to use a blueprint on a map that I have in that folder, I have to move some files around in those folders before I even launch the game. I know you all are working on a whole new system for blueprints so just thought I'd add this small suggestion for the future. This would allow people to make modular style blueprint pieces with some confidence that they are not limited in number of pieces available. (Wall pieces, pier pieces, floor pieces, etc). I have made other suggestions about blueprints (letting them be placed at actual ground level instead of floating slightly above ground, being able to freeplace and rotate, etc) so I won't yammer on about all them or the other suggestions again LOL

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication! I'm excited about all the new possibilities and directions exploration is headed!

Edited March 12, 2021 by spiritchaser28

[zarwil 393]

5 hours ago, Aleš Ulm said:

we are planning to actively start bringing players into Ylands again

This game has never really had a marketing push aside from the initial E3 trailer, right? That's what got me interested initially, as I liked the art style. Hopefully you can do something similar again. You certainly can't rely on word-of-mouth for exposure at this point hahah ^^

[ocnoglittle 760]

Next Tuesday at 8pm CET, Aleš will visit Naru's stream to talk about the future of Ylands and respond to your questions! You will be able to find it on both his stream and the official Ylands stream! So make sure to stop by, if you are interested! https://www.twitch.tv/naruthehuman

[Vega3221 32]

21 hours ago, ocnoglittle said:

Next Tuesday at 8pm CET, Aleš will visit Naru's stream to talk about the future of Ylands and respond to your questions! You will be able to find it on both his stream and the official Ylands stream! So make sure to stop by, if you are interested! https://www.twitch.tv/naruthehuman

I peeked at this Naru's Ylands last Tube.. Nope, i dont approve at this content creator! Ylands is played and watched by many kids. Using the words in his Tube like "Jesus!!!" is not appropriate for kids. The use of that word in vain is not cool. Who know just now he start to use F... and more. No wonder that the official Ylands Tube he hosted had like ONLY 82 hits till today. "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZCWHSRVE0" And please let he get his act together if he do a Tube, Adam could do it closed eyes!!

If i see again his content with ugly words, i will report him to Youtube or what media his using! Kids trust believe and learn what they watch..

Sounds that dev team got a shock and eye opener.. and is or look or sound on the correct way NOW! Thanks, this game deserve it!

Cheerz Old Ylands Supporter!

[ocnoglittle 760]

I'm sorry you feel that way. I am happy with how much Naru censors himself currently and not worried about showing his videos to children, but that is a personal decision.  

I will try to put a transcript of the Q&A here on the forum and make sure there is nothing offensive whatsoever included.

[Vega3221 32]

So you happy with words like "Jesus" shout out in a tube.. while kids are watching? There must be no need for "users" like you to help content creators.. they must obey by Youtube rules. just saying. I will monitor!

Edited March 13, 2021 by Vega3221

[spiritchaser28 920]

@Vega3221 This is also not the forum to discuss religious opinions. Read Rule 3 thanks

[Vega3221 32]

10 hours ago, spiritchaser28 said:

@Vega3221 This is also not the forum to discuss religious opinions. Read Rule 3 thanks

Mmmm think you don't take in what you read. I am not discussing religion old mate It is Blasphemy and seen in many countries as a swear word. If he use it in front off 100 off kids i will defend it. And if the Dev's "not you as simple user" approve this use off language i will take it to the next level. Waiting there response. I am not a Ylands Dev's fan boy, i defend kids and young players!!

 

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

@Vega3221 Hi. I am sorry if you got offended by what he said, but I think that making assumptions about what he's going to say next (F-word) based on his saying "Jesus" seems to be a bit far-fetched. We've been communicating with our players for many years now (both through videos and writing) and this, as far as I can remember, the first complaint of this kind we've received.  However, it's good to know that you will keep monitoring our videos - if you ever hear any "ugly" words, please feel free to create a new thread about it or send a private message directly to me. Thanks  

@others: Thanks for your questions/feedback - I will do my best to react to those on Monday or Tuesday. It seems the situation with our CM should resolve quite soon and we will be able to respond faster  

[Vega3221 32]

56 minutes ago, Aleš Ulm said:

@Vega3221 Hi. I am sorry if you got offended by what he said, but I think that making assumptions about what he's going to say next (F-word) based on his saying "Jesus" seems to be a bit far-fetched. We've been communicating with our players for many years now (both through videos and writing) and this, as far as I can remember, the first complaint of this kind we've received.  However, it's good to know that you will keep monitoring our videos - if you ever hear any "ugly" words, please feel free to create a new thread about it or send a private message directly to me. Thanks  

@others: Thanks for your questions/feedback - I will do my best to react to those on Monday or Tuesday. It seems the situation with our CM should resolve quite soon and we will be able to respond faster  

@Ales

So you ok with the calling of a swear word "Jesus" So i can also make Tubes now and offend other religions like say bad words off Alla.. and so forth? I thought your company is so into " fine tune this game" to be used in school???? This is what you last say as excuse that it took longer for updates to fall. if this is the case i will for sure get into contact with those schools. The reply you gave here is pathetic... or do you do this "school" marketing just for the money part off it? The word "Jesus" is just as ugly swear word ad "fuck" and other cursed words FOR adults but more for kids. I will monitor now more than ever on the "low grade" tubes. If you used to swear words like F and O God.... and O Jesus.... i am not. And i will not let humans teach KIDS this. We there to help and teach them.

The reply you gave on this is maybe the problem the game is hitting the foundations.

[Vega3221 32]

And i just notice you drop my reputation just to help kids to -2. Great stuff, you give me more ammo to fight this battle!!

Good Going Ales

[spiritchaser28 920]

[spiritchaser28 920]

Wow I just found the ignore button!

 

[zarwil 393]

3 hours ago, spiritchaser28 said:

Wow I just found the ignore button!

 

help me to it! 

[ocnoglittle 760]

Spirit explained it to me. You can hover over someone's profile picture and press "ignore User"

 

Or add them here: https://ylands.com/community/ignore/

 

[kimbuck 746]

This "being offended" reminds me of the story of the   90 year old   woman with a walker checking into a  hotel ,  then  ringing up the reception with a complaint 30 minutes later.

She complained  when she  looked out her   window  she could see a naked  couple...

The manager went up to investigate ..and  looked out the window ...all he saw  was a fence .

Then  the  old  woman  said  " you  have to  jump  up and down on the bed ,  when you  jump  high enough you can see over the   fence  and into the  bedroom of the neighboring  unit...:"   

 

 

[Aleš Ulm 1725]

@Vega3221 I don't understand what made you so angry - I didn't say anything about us being fine with that and I think we can certainly keep doing videos without saying "Jesus". On the other hand, since doing this wasn't surely intentional I find your reaction unnecessarily aggressive. Also, we didn't do anything about your reputation - all changes in reputation are caused only by other players rating your posts. And finally, if you feel like discussing this topic further, I would like to suggest creating a new thread in the General section or PM me directly because this thread is meant for discussion about other things. Thanks! 

[Deadeye_Rob 908]

 

This is the funniest (and pettiest) complaint I have ever witnessed on this forum! Who let the local Mumsnet representative in?

@Aleš Ulm, I understand that as a representative of your company, you have to consider everyone’s opinions. But my god...’cough’.... I mean, my goodness! Please don’t think we’re all so sensitive!

I’m an engineer with two kids, trust me when I say that UK Breakfast television has worse language than the Ylands Streams! You guys have nothing to apologise for in my opinion!

[bojo2736 1016]

On 3/13/2021 at 8:21 AM, Vega3221 said:

I peeked at this Naru's Ylands last Tube.. Nope, i dont approve at this content creator! Ylands is played and watched by many kids. Using the words in his Tube like "Jesus!!!" is not appropriate for kids. The use of that word in vain is not cool. Who know just now he start to use F... and more. No wonder that the official Ylands Tube he hosted had like ONLY 82 hits till today. "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCZCWHSRVE0" And please let he get his act together if he do a Tube, Adam could do it closed eyes!!

If i see again his content with ugly words, i will report him to Youtube or what media his using! Kids trust believe and learn what they watch..

Sounds that dev team got a shock and eye opener.. and is or look or sound on the correct way NOW! Thanks, this game deserve it!

Cheerz Old Ylands Supporter!

Doesn't YT still have a 13 year old rule? If you have kids, it's your job to parent them and decide what media they take in. 

[Miguel Preguisa 443]

Is everyone here on the forum a parent? ? Too old for MC communities and here I feel inappropriately young now!