Ahoy Ylanders, We've been hard at work on the upcoming update, which we titled Tremendous Techtree. And before we release it, we bring you the experimental build!  Available only to Steam users, the Experimental build offers you guys a chance to: test upcoming features & changes report any bugs & provide early feedback (#experimental_build room on our Discord server is a great way to do that)
HOW TO TRY THE EXPERIMENTAL BUILD *optional* If you've been playing for a while and are not a newer player, please delete the contents of this folder C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\Bohemia Interactive\Ylands\Crashes go to your Steam library and right-click Ylands select Properties, click the "Betas" tab, and enter "YExperimentalPublic" as the password (excluding the double quotes) this will unlock the "i_will_back_up_my_saves" branch. (Please note that you don't need to back up your saves anymore this is just the name of the branch). after selecting the branch and confirming it, Steam will begin downloading the new experimental branch  
SUPER IMPORTANT INFO!  Any progress you make on the experimental build DOES NOT carry over to your live game!!!  When you start playing experimental, we will now copy your live progress into experimental for you. You can try your actual progress in the new update right away (remember that you are playing in a separate environment so it will not affect your progress on live by any means). What WILL be copied: Adventure mode progress, All editor scenarios and tools, Non-protected workshop scenarios and all the blueprints you have uploaded to the workshop All your purchased blueprints All your local blueprints What WILL NOT be copied: Sharegames Rented servers (if you want any of those maps on experimental, you will need to turn them into singleplayer maps before you start experimental for the first time) Any workshop assets with global user data (leaderboards, game sets, etc) Do not copy any local files! Any TAMPERING with local data can lead to irreversible loss of progress!!! Not all features that will be released in the full release are necessarily available in the Experimental build. It is possible that some features available in the Experimental build might be changed, balanced, or removed before the full release. Please delete the content of the folder:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\Bohemia Interactive\Ylands\Crashes If you forgot to delete the content of the folder and the game starts as a new game contact us for help.   ...with that out of the way...onto the good stuff!   HIGHLIGHTS New Experimental!  Brand new way of playing the experimental build, now your live progress is copied to experimental so you can try the new changes with your own character and with your own progress! You can also try out your Editor tools and scenarios and see if they work, please keep us informed! Tech Tree Progress through core and most optional recipes is now based on a Tech Tree, allowing for more a controlled and fun system of unlocking crafting recipes. Handbook rewards New rewards for handbook tasks and story (bear in mind some of them are placeholders in experimental). Some rewards can be obtained only through the handbook and nowhere else, so remember to claim them! Compass overhaul Compass is now always visible and has an all-new visual for increased contrast. We also added the detection of cave entrances. Proximity chat Players are now able to communicate via a built-in proximity voice chat in multiplayer sessions. Inventory context button improvements We felt the item detail window was too hidden, so we displayed it more prominently (replaced the "Used In" button). Used In was moved to the item detail window, along with several new functions (Link to the crafting recipe, ability to craft more of the same item, etc.) Alchemy changed to crafting The alchemy table now works as any other workstation (potions are researched in the tech tree as most of the other recipes). Region map is now single-player by default Do you often run out of space in the region map? Now all your maps are single-player by default. Servers are always accessible by a separate game list in the region map. This should double the space for your own ylands! Avatar frames Now you can change the borders of your avatar's face. You can gain some as a reward or buy some in the shop. Frames are visible to all your friends. Biotop polishing Flora and fauna are now region-specific. We also changed the visual (both terrain and new entities) of every region. There are now some new animals like hens, and many new plants, rocks, and trees.  Random encounters Random encounters are now region-specific (except for vendors). Vendor encounters were rebalanced and their compositions were updated. Optional recipes were separated into smaller pools to reflect progress in the Tech Tree. We also added a new method for the optional recipe and exploration point acquisition (Interactive entities hidden in Random encounters).  Quality of life improvements List of valid entities for inventory containers extended (or changed). Tutorial rebalanced for new changes. Items automatically removed from containers no longer drop on the ground
Destroyed entities from REs no longer drop resources. Hardened items no longer fall to the ground when terrain is modified below them. Stumps can be removed using a pick tool. Empty categories in the Crafting menu are hidden until you learn their contents.  Sailing speed rebalance Boats were rebalanced to be slower than most ships. Ship speeds were rebalanced for a more linear progression. The angle of optimal wind was increased and the negative effect of sailing against the wind decreased. The power of sails and engines is applied by an exponential curve - less power is required to reach a reasonable speed. Gamepad PC alpha version Early access to the implementation of Gamepad controls for you to try out. Bear in mind that some UI windows are still in progress and you will not be able to use the gamepad in them properly. But especially in combat or general gameplay, we would like to know how gamepad controls work for you. Also please try our new aim assist using the gamepad. Full gamepad implementation will happen during next year. Aim assist Players using a gamepad or playing on mobile are now being assisted with aiming. Secondary Interaction bound to E key We moved some radial menu actions to a separate hotkey. Feedback improvement You can send feedback messages with save files attached.  Indicators for saving and bad connection Whenever the game autosaves, an indicator flashes in the bottom right corner. Should you experience issues with an internet connection, the game will display that as well. Also, losing progress when your internet connection is poor should be mitigated to a minimum. EDITOR: Custom tools folders Organize Toolbox neatly into virtual folders. EDITOR: Debug stepping alpha version Introducing an alpha version of a powerful debugging tool for Custom Games containing complicated Visual Script. Add breakpoints to Visual Script tiles, test the game in the Debug mode, and walk through the script step by step. This feature is hidden by default but can be enabled by /enabledebugging 1.     Critical Blocking Issues: tech tree does not work properly in multiplayer handbook rewards can disappear in multiplayer Please note that not all texts are translated at the moment and some old texts are not updated yet.