This is a list of UnReal World release notes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version: 3.30 ** Saved characters from version 3.19-> are compatible with this version. ** - tile graphics overhaul We've accomplished quite a graphics update and along with hundreds of redrawn tiles the game has got a whole new outlook new. To put this monumental task in a nutshell it goes as follows: * overhauled tile graphics engine New tile system requires a new engine and that's what we have done. The new engine isn't limited just for drawing static map tiles, but also allows other improvements in graphical presentation of UnReal World which are explained further in this newslist. * redrawn tiles Majority of tiles have been redrawn and there are also lots and lots of new unique tiles for old items. For example, all the knives and swords have their own tile instead of one generic tile being used for every knife or sword. New tiles are located in truetile/ folder. There's also truetile/readme.txt containing general information and modding guidelines. Nice bunch of tile contributions for this version come from Wickham's tileset. * separate files for each tile - easier modding of tile graphics Sprite sheets are gone and each tile is now in a separate file. This makes modding and personal customization of graphics far more easy. You can specify tile graphics for modded items with new [TILEGFX:] tag which is explained further in this newslist. To add a new graphic tile for modded item just create a new tile graphic file in truetile/ folder and use the tag to let the game know to use that tile. * graphical compatibility with old savegames and mods remains Despite of huge changes in tile graphics structure compatibility with savegames and even old mods should work quite well. The game corrects references to old indexed vanilla tiles on the fly and shows the applicable new tiles instead. However, updating your mods to use new tile system is advised. See usage of [TILEGFX:] tag to associate new tiles to your mods further in this newslist. - variety of graphical goodies and tweaks With the power vested in new tile graphics engine the following graphical goodies and tweaks have been implemented: * enhanced missile attack graphics Missile weapons and arrows are now drawn flying their head towards the target. Other than missile weapons now spin around in the air when they are thrown. * enhanced fire graphics - Fires now spread a flickering circle of light around them which brightens and tints the surrouding terrain and items. The effect is most immersive (and most necessary) during the darkest hours. - Fires are now animated with three frames which makes them look more lively - Size of the fire is now represented by scaling the fire sprite instead of using multiple sprites. * direction-wise track graphics Tracks of creatures are now drawn to their actual direction. * two facing direction graphics for all the creatures; east and west If a creature is facing towards NE,E,SE or S its' eastward graphic tile is used. If a creature is facing towards N,NW,W or SW its' westward graphic tile is used. In the future we'll be featuring creatures drawn to all eight facing direction, but this is a start. The good old little blue arrow beside the creature still shows its' exact facing direction. * direction arrow and two facing direction graphics for player character Facing direction of the player character is now shown with little yellow arrow beside the avatar. And just like the creatures the player avatar also has two facing direction graphics; east and west. * when skiing the skis are now actually drawn under the character * some plants have more growth stages than previously so you can expect to see more varying plant graphics during their lifespan - statistics/messages screen viewport rearranged * Usage of the upper right corner real-life action images is over. It's end of an era, but maybe they'll return someday in new style. Instead of action images character portrait is now shown in the upper right corner. * The old green character heading box has been removed. Heading direction and sound clues are now shown within the new upper right corner heading box. * Nutrition/warmth/vigour and wielding dialogs have been rearranged and stylized. * Game messages dialog has been enlargened. * Graphical clues of heard sound directions now stay visible for a longer time and fade away gradually. These sound clues are shown within the new upper right corner heading box. - added: player character avatar graphic clues for running and hiding movement modes When running some "dust" is drawn at character avatars feet. When hiding character avatars is tinted with green. - added: [F9] key command to reload tile graphics Pressing [F9] will reload the tiles. It's easier to mod graphics now as you can edit a tile, save it and then reload the graphics while the game is running to see the chances in action right away. - added: day and night lighting cycle Map color scheme now changes according to time of the day and time of the year. The lighting change is based on realistic solar elevation angle on northern hemisphere on a given game-time moment and it's calculated and applied smoothly once per game-minute. Daylight slowly turns into twilight, dusk and night - and then into dawn again. The change of seasons, and the great seasonal variation in length of days and nights in the Far North is now far more concrete and immersive. During midsummer the sun barely sets at all and nights are light and short. During midwinter days are really short and nights are long. And late autumn nights are the darkest ones, until the snow comes. - added: NIGHT_BRIGHTNESS configuration option If the night time tint appears too dark on your monitor you can increase the brightness by adjusting NIGHT_BRIGHTNESS value in urw_ini.txt or via in-game setup options. Possible values are 0-30, and it's set to 0 by default. - added: MAP_LIGHTING_EFFECTS configuration option You can toggle day and night color-scheme and fire tint effects by modifying MAP_LIGHTING_EFFECTS value in urw_ini.txt or via in-game setup options. On older computers these effects may cause slow performance or flashing of the screen and can be disabled if necessary. - added: MAP_GRID configuration option If the new tile graphics perspective gives you hard time to figure out which tile you are at you can enable map grid by modifying MAP_GRID value in urw_ini.txt or via in-game setup options. - added: OLD_HARDWARE_MODE configuration option If you've got an older computer and rendering fails you can try enabling old hardware mode. This mode uses software rendering and should be used only if absolutely necessary. Enable by modifying OLD_HARDWARE_MODE value in urw_ini.txt or via in-game setup options. - added: RIGHT_ALT_HOTKEYS configuration option Defines if Right Alt (AltGr) key is enabled for activating ALT+hotkey game shortcuts. On some keyboard layouts Right Alt is used to produce letters and can be disabled if need be by modifying RIGHT_ALT_HOTKEYS value in urw_ini.txt or via in-game setup options. Defaults to YES. Possible values: YES - use right alt for activating game shortcuts NO - don't use righ alt for activating game shortcuts - weather overhaul The weather engine has been rewritten from a scratch and we've got detailed and realistic simulation of weather factors such as rain, snowfall, solar elevation angle and temperature changes. The new weather engine deals with numerous weather variables and much greater annual and seasonal changes are to be expected. Put it in short; the years are less alike from now on. Here's a list of the most exciting and important weather related improvements and mechanics: * snowfall It can snow for real in the game now, and you can see it snowing. There can be different levels of snowing, and with the new weather engine in action the first snow naturally doesn't fall the same day every year. Snow thickness is now tracked per 1mm and each hour of snowfall will make the snow grow thicker and thicker. Similarly the snow melts away gradually when it gets warm enough. - Visibility of tracks on the snow now depends on snow thickness. You can expect to notice less tracks when the snow cover isn't all that thick. - How fatiguing it is to walk in the snow now depends on snow thickness. You can expect to get less fatigued from walking in the snow in early and late winter when the snow cover isn't very thick. - Snow depth is told to you when you look at ground tiles that aren't occupied by items. Instead of plain "Ground" you'll now get verbal description of the snow depth for example as follows: "Faint snow", "Thin snow", "Fist deep snow", "Ankle deep snow", "Calf deep snow", "Waist deep snow", "Chest deep snow" etc. * realistic modelling of ice and freezing of lakes Pretty much everything related to ice has been overhauled. Lakes start to freeze when the weather gets cold enough. This doesn't happen the same time every year, and the ice also doesn't grow equally thick every year. And when the lakes freeze, they now freeze gradually. - The ice cover first starts to build up at shallow water and proceeds towards deeper sections from there on. How fast the ice cover increases or decreases depends solely on the weather. Ice thickness can also vary at different sections of the lake. It's not anymore safe to walk on the ice as soon as there's ice cover on the lake. Thin ice can break under any load it can't hold - be it your character, NPCs, animals or items. - There's a confirmation to step on the ice if the character doubts the ice will hold. This applies to thin ice which characters can easily recognize by stomping on it to see if it cracks. Notice that even if there are no doubts and confirmations the ice still isn't necessarily safe to walk on. - It's not possible to travel on the ice on world map when the character doesn't trust the ice completely. If that's the case a message to zoom in to travel on the ice will be shown. This way the character can't mistakenly step on unreliable ice on world map. However, it should be noted that the ice can't never be trusted completely and even when you are allowed to travel on the ice on world map it can still break. Should this happen, the character is forced on zoomed in map where he/she needs to navigate to safe location. * falling through the ice - If you happen to fall through the ice climbing and pulling yourself back onto the ice is not easy and depends on your climbing skill, agility and strength. All of these factors are tested on each turn you try to move from the water onto the ice. Wielding any sharp pointy weapon such as knife, sword, spear or even an arrow will improve your chances to pull yourself out of the water. Swimming skill is also important as it determines for how long and how easily you can keep struggling in the water. - If you're unable to get out of the water after 5-10 minutes, you're almost certainly not going to get out. Your body temperature starts to drop as soon as you fall in the freezing water, and when hypothermia sets in you will eventually lose consciousness and drown. Depending on your swimming and climbing skills you will also build up certain amount fatigue on every turn you spend struggling in the water, and the more fatigued you get the lower your chances to pull yourself out become. * improved mechanics for making a hole in the ice - Time required to make a hole in the ice has been adjusted and now also depends on the ice thickness and the tool used. It's around 25 minute job to make a hole into half a meter thick ice with an axe. An inch thick ice can be broken in a minute or so. If the ice is very thin you can also break it without any tools. - When making a hole in the ice the best available tool is automatically selected. In addition to axes, spears and swords also stones and knives can be now used for breaking ice - even though they are quite unhandy for the job. The order of ice breaking tools from best to worst goes as: axe, spear, sword, knife, stone. - Holes in the ice will freeze back gradually and remain recognizable for a few days. Eventually the frozen holes will look like the regular ice cover, but may be weaker than the surrounding ice for some time. As holes in the ice won't freeze completely overnight it's now easier to maintain your wintertime water supply by breaking the same slightly frozen hole on a regular basis with only a little effort. * water temperature - Water temperature factor has been added, and it's precisely tracked thorough the year. It's not anymore always pleasant nor possible to swim for equally long time just about any day of the year. - Entering the water has faster effect on character's body temperature now. Even if you were feeling warm when going to swim in the cold water you'll get chilly or cold very soon. When the water is very warm you can spend hours in there without ill effects, but even if the lakes aren't frozen the water can still be so cold that there's a true risk of hypothermia. Needless to say, summer is best the season for longer swimming trips from now on. - If you are about to enter the cold water there's now always a confirmation if you really want to do so. It's still safe to swim in the cold water, but now you just may need to warm up properly afterwards to get comfortable again. However, entering the cold water when you are already freezing is not a wise move. - When looking at an adjacent water tile a message about the water temperature will be displayed. "The water is freezingly cold.","The water is very cold.","The water is rather warm." etc. - improved: temperature checks, character's body temperature and effects of freezing temperatures Temperature checks and their results to character's physique and body temperature are now tracked per minute. The curve at which character's body temperature now changes is smoother, more intelligent and more realistic. * There's a new worst case character's body temperature tag added: "Freezing to death". Like the rest of tags, it's shown in your "Nutrition/Warmth/Vigour" infobox and comes after the "Freezing" state. You should take the new tag seriously as it informs about approaching lethal hypothermia. Actually, from now on you should take even the "Freezing" tag more seriously than before. The new, adjusted list of cold body temperature tags now goes as follows: Cool, chilly, cold, bitterly cold, numbingly cold, freezing, freezing to death. * With the new body temperature checks and their minute based tracking it's now more likely and way faster to die of hypothermia in the cold weather if you aren't dressed properly. Previously you could walk naked in the freezing weather for hours just getting frostbites all over your body. If you try the same thing now it can result in a death within mere half an hour or so. * Frostbites can still occur, but they are now more of nuisance rather than life-threatening risk. The death in the cold now comes with lowered body temperature which at it worst leads to state of hypothermia where you lose your consciousness and freeze to death. And it can happen without a single frostbite. It's best to take the warmth tags and cues of lowered body temperature seriously. * During extremely freezing temperatures it's now hardly avoidable to eventually feel cool, cold or chilly no matter how many layers of fur you are wearing. Roaming days on end in the wild during the winter without occasionally warming up by the fire is still sometimes manageable if you have lots of warm clothes, but it's no longer an expedition of constant comfortable warmth. - added: frozen ground and related digging restrictions The ground can now get frozen along with freezing temperatures and this affects to possibilities of digging it. It's not possible to dig at all in completely frozen ground, and it's harder to dig in somewhat frosty ground. When the ground first freezes and then melts again is based on average temperature of the past few weeks. As a rule of thumb the ground gets frozen solid during the winter and starts to melt again in the spring. Yearly variation can occur as this is based on the actual weather. This adds a new factor to winter survival as you can't dig (trap) pits all year around anymore. - added: restrictions to planting and preparing the soil when the ground is frozen These actions don't depend merely on time of the year anymore, but are now linked to actual weather. You can't plant anything or prepare the soil if it's still too cold or frosty. How early or late in the spring you can start growing your own crops now varies annually. - improved: weatherlore skill As we've got a new weather engine there are also new weatherlore results. The weather prediction is given for the next 24 hours and contains information about temperature changes and possibility of rain or snow. Using weatherlore skill before noon gives you a weather prediction for the ongoing day and the coming night. Using weatherlore skill after noon gives a prediction for the coming night and tomorrow day. How accurately you can predict the weather naturally depends on your weatherlore skill. Examples of new weatherlore results: "During the night the temperature will be slightly colder than now. It will be raining. Tomorrow the temperature will be about the same as now. It will be raining." "During the day the temperature will be slightly colder than now. It won't be snowing. During the night the temperature will be slightly colder than now. It will be snowing a little." - overhauled: horizon box The "horizon box" in the upper left corner of the game view has been rewritten and refashioned. Cloudiness, rain and snowfall are represented more beautifully with updated graphics. The sun sails across the sky based on realistic solar elevation angle the new weather engine provides. Tint of the horizon box also changes according to time of the day and follows the day and night lighting cycle. Moreover, it's all updated on minute basis so everything that happens there now happens in more smooth and precise fashion. - added: new cursor drawing mechanics for selecting a target The new cursor is drawn more precisely along with map refresh on each move and makes it easier to figure out what tile you've selected. However, it may appear slow on some systems and because of that there's FAST_TARGET_CURSOR configuration option in urw_ini.txt to turn on old-school fast target cursor at will. - added: texture scaling quality configuration option SCALE_QUALITY option in urw_ini.txt defines texture scaling quality as follows: 0 - nearest pixel 1 - linear 2 - best It's set to 2 by default. - overhauled: map of know areas (F6) The outlook is familiar, but the content and options are enhanced and redesigned. * map viewport is larger than before and utilizes your current screen size. If you've got the resolution the enlargened map view appears sharp and crisp. * cultural blocks are now round and alpha-blended on top of the map so that you get the idea of explored areas also with cultural regions showing. * point and click locations for more information Hovering mouse cursor over the map brings up a target cursor and you can then point and click markers and locations to see the associated information eg. village regional descriptions. Clicking net and trap locations will show when you last visited those sites. It's also possible to choose and select locations with keyboard if you don't care to touch the mouse. With keyboard you can toggle target selector on and off by pressing [F3], and then use arrows keys to move and [ENTER] to select the location. * custom map markers You can now add custom map markers with descriptive text. New markers can be added only at character's current location, but editing and removing them anywhere on the map is possible regardless of character's whereabouts. In addition to descriptive text you can also choose from five different marker colors. Pointing and clicking a marker will show the associated description. When travelling on zoomed out wilderness map the markers are clearly shown on when they come in your sight. You can also look at them on wilderness map to view the descriptive text. Markers are added and edited within Map Of Known Areas (F6) screen. To edit an already set marker first point and click it. To add a new marker at character's location simply select [A]dd marker option. - music: new intro song, and music changes We've got a new intro song based on age-old traditional Kantele melody. 5-string Kantele is played by Lani K. Thompson (www.kantelemusic.com). Arrangement, rest of the instruments, mixing and mastering by Sami. The intro song now doesn't stop when the main is screen up but carries on until the actual gameplay gameplay starts, so it works as our character creation background music too. The previous outro and death tunes have been removed for variety of reasons. - added: "How is it going?" chat option This is mostly a preliminary quest related addition to be featured in full force in the upcoming versions. There are no quests yet and NPC replies to this question are short and trivial, except that old men may speak a little something about the weather. - modding add: true modability of crafted (and cooked) items Properties of crafted items can be modded so that truly new items can be created. This applies to do-it-yourself items (diy_*.*) and cookery recipes (cookery_*.*). Modding item properties is simple. You just add item property tags and preferred values after the actual crafting code. If you are creating completely new items it's still advisable to use similar vanilla item as a base item. Item property tags allow you to mod majority of item properties, but vanilla items may have some fixed values which is why it's important to choose the base item carefully. Eg. to create a new kind of a rope, base it on a vanilla rope to ensure it will be properly recognized as tying equipment in the game. Notice that modding item properties doesn't start from a scratch. Every crafted item already has its' properties initialized, and you just need to modify the ones you want to modify. When modding cooked item properties notice that the food price and nutritional values are always automatically calculated upon cooking. Let's take a look at few examples. Here we'll be crafting a new modded item "Custom javelin", which is based on vanilla Javelin: .Custom javelin. "Javelin" *COMMON* /30/ {Staff} [remove] {Cutting weapon} {Fire} '+(for hardening the head)' [POINT_ATTACK:8] [EDGE_ATTACK:-] [BLUNT_ATTACK:2] [WEIGHT:0.1] [PRICE:2] [1HPENALTY:5] We'll set point attack to 8, blunt to 2 and disable edge. We adjust the weight and price, and modify one-handed penalty for out custom javelin to 5%. Another example, a leather miniskirt: .Leather miniskirt. "Leather shirt" *COMMON* /60/ {Leather} #2.5# [remove] {Knife} [ARMOUR_MATERIAL:leather] [ARMOUR_COVERAGE:hip groin] We base it on "Leather shirt" and then modify the coverage so the miniskirt covers only hip & groin. And item modding is done the same way with cookery recipes. Here's a recipe for dried berries: .Dried berries. *COOKERY* /25/ \10d\ %50% :151: {Berries} #1# [remove] [roast] [name:Pile of dried %s] [SPOILAGE_DAYS:0] [WATER:0] [COOK_WEIGHT_DIV:10] We set spoilage time to zero which makes the food last forever, remove the possible water content in the berries, and use cooking specific weight divider tag to compress the food weight to one tenth. Here's the list of item property tags you can use in modding items: ==================================================================================================================== [NAME:] - item name Example: [NAME:Weird knife] - The item is called weird knife in the game. Notice .Item name. described in the header is still always shown in crafting menus, even if you will specify a name with this tag. *** [TILEGFX:] - graphic tile filename for the item without the filename extension Example: [TILEGFX:mytile] - the item uses truetile/mytile.png graphic tile. Tiles for the items need to be located in truetile/ folder in .png format. See truetile/readme.txt for more information about tile format. *** [TYPE:] - item type Possible values: weapon / armour / tool / container / skin / food / timber / vehicle / plant / valuable Example: [TYPE:weapon] - the item is a weapon *** [WEIGHT:] - weight in pounds (by default), or in grams if the value is followed by g abbreviation Examples: [WEIGHT:1.5] - the item weighs 1.5 pounds [WEIGHT:100 g] - the item weighs 100 grams *** [COOK_WEIGHT_DIV:] - a value to divide the cooked food weight with This is a special tag for cooked foods to allow them being compressed in weight but still keeping the total nutrional value intact. It's the same mechanism as the in-game drying of food items. Examples: [COOK_WEIGHT_DIV:2] - the cooked food item weigh is halved (divided by two) [COOK_WEIGHT_DIV:10] - the cooked food item weigh is divided by ten (sets to 10% of the original) *** [CONT_CAPACITY:] - capacity of container type item in pounds Example: [CONT_CAPACITY:3] - the container can hold 3 lbs of food, liquid etc. *** [PRICE:] - price in squirrel hides per item (default) or per pound if the value is followed by 'per lb' Examples: [PRICE:4] - the item costs 4 squirrel hides [PRICE:0.2] - the item costs 0.2 squirrel hides [PRICE:1.5 per lb] - one pound of the item costs 1.5 squirrel hides *** [EDGE_ATTACK:] [POINT_ATTACK:] [BLUNT_ATTACK:] - damage values for weapon attack aspects possible values: 0-9 or - numbers define the damage, - means the aspect is not available for the weapon Example: [EDGE_ATTACK:0] [POINT_ATTACK:2] [BLUNT_ATTACK:-] - thie weapon has 0 edge damage, 2 point damage and doesn't have blunt attack aspect *** [MATERIAL:] - of what raw-material the item is made of This property is not fully functional yet and we'll be featured better in the future. However, it's advisable to use this tag in your mods already. possible values: wood / iron / leather / fur / birch-bark / cloth / wool / rock / bone / antler Examples: [MATERIAL:wood] - the item is wooden [MATERIAL:cloth] - the item is made of some cloth [MATERIAL:iron] - the item is made of iron *** [ARMOUR_MATERIAL:] - material of armour type items. This defines the protection values. possible values: lamellar / iron / mail / leather / fur / cloth / wool / birch-bark Examples: [ARMOUR_MATERIAL:iron] - the armour is made of iron *** [ARMOUR_COVERAGE:] - bodyparts covered by the armour possible values: one of these predefined coverage categories: cloak / hauberk / long_hauberk / habergeon / cuirass / overcoat / greaves / rerebraces / vambraces / shirt / short_shirt / long_shirt / trousers / tunic or any combination of these bodyparts values: skull / face / neck / shoulder / upper_arm / elbow / forearm / hand / thorax / abdomen / hip / groin / thigh / knee / calf / foot Examples: [ARMOUR_COVERAGE:overcoat] - the armour has coverage of an overcoat [ARMOUR_COVERAGE:skull neck shoulder] - the armour covers skull, neck and shoulders *** [SKILL:] - skill associated with the item. Only for weapons. possible value: one of the skills in the game eg. sword,club,bow,crossbow etc. Example: [SKILL:sword] - the weapon uses SWORD skill *** [1H_PENALTY:] - skill penalty from using this weapon one-handed possible value: 0-50, defaults to 0 Example: [1H_PENALTY:15] - 15% penalty is added when this weapon is used one-handed *** [AD_CLASS:] - attack and defense class of the weapon. A/D classification adds related skill bonus when the weapon is used in attack or defense. possible value: 0-6/0-6 (both values must be entered at once separated by /) Default is 0/0. The higher the value the better the weapon performs in attack/defense. Example: [AD_CLASS:5/0] - the weapon has attack class 5 and no bonus when used in defense [AD_CLASS:1/4] - the weapon has attack class 1 and defense class 4 *** [SPOILAGE_DAYS:] - in how many days the food item spoils possible value: 0-253 (0 means that the item never spoils) Example: [SPOILAGE_DAYS:5] - the food item will spoil in 5 days *** [CARB:] [FAT:] [PROTEIN:] - nutritional values for food items per 100 grams of the food possible value: 0-99 representing grams of carbohydrates/fat/protein per 100 grams of the food Example: [CARB:0] - the item contains no carbohydrates [FAT:4] - the item contains 4 g of fat (per 100 g) [PROTEIN:12] - the item contains 12 g of protein (per 100 g) *** [WATER:] - water content of food items per 100 grams possible value: 0-99 representing grams of water content 100 grams of the food Example: [WATER:0] - the item has no water content [WATER:50] - the item contains 50 g of water (per 100 g) ==================================================================================================================== - improved: examining locations * When looking at a location occupied by both NPC and items the information of items is now also displayed. (Previously in such a situation only NPC information was displayed.) * When looking at non-empty location tile type information is now always displayed. For example, if there's a roasted cut on a sleeping bunk it will say: You see there a roasted cut. Sleeping bunk (Previously tile type information was displayed only when looking at empty locations) * Examining a distant location ([l] or [F3]) now also displays precise track information if it's an unoccupied adjacent tile you are looking at. If you examine a further away location with visible tracks it just mentions that there are "some tracks". - added: unconscious creatures in the water will eventually drown On average it takes a minute or two (10-20 turns) for an uncoscious creature to drown in the water, and drowning can occur in the shallow water too. However, aquatic birds and animals don't drown very easily even if they would lose consciousness in the water. - tweaked: food left to cook doesn't burn and spoil if the fire has gone out - added: information about how long a fire will burn When examining a fire, you'll be given an estimation for how long it will burn. It's not an exact hour and minute information, but we use descriptions like: "This fire will burn for half an hour / an hour / over an hour / a few hours / several hours / etc. " If the fire is expected to burn for less than half an hour it's said to last "a (very) little while". If the fire is expected to burn many, many hours then time of day descriptions are used in this fashion: "This fire will burn till evening / noon / early morning / etc." - added: carrying lit torch or having a fire in adjacent tile helps to build a fire - improved: building a fire * Initial amount of required firewood to build a fire has been decreased so you can now start smaller fires than previusly. * Some smaller kindling is always required to set larger pieces of wood on fire. You can't set for example trunks on fire anymore without having some branches, twigs, firewood or other smaller combustible items there as well. Branches and firewood can be always set on fire on their own, but pretty much everything larger than that needs additional kindling. * There are new game messages to notify about new firewood and kindling requirements. - adjusted: branch and spruce twig weights increased As a result lesser amount of them is needed for proper fire. - added: default inventory filtering for [w]ield command; only weapons & tools are listed by default It makes wielding of tools easier, as you don't have to browse the inventory that much. - improved: weapon restocking in villages Previously the weapon restocking was almost non-existent due to extremely long restocking cycle. Now the weapon restocking happens in more regular basis, even if the player character wouldn't trade and reduce villagers weapon reserves at all. Weapon restocking is still rather slow and it can easily take months before weapon supplies in villages get renewed on their own. Didn't find that bow you were looking for from a particular village in the autumn? With the improved weapon restocking it's now actually worthwhile to come back in the winter and they just might have it then. - added: asking people about their weapon skills Within "Ask for help/company" chat mode there's now an option to ask people about their weapon skills. When recruiting companions those who need extra weapons will also automatically speak of their weapons skills. - improved: recruiting companions If recruiting a companion is cancelled the people will give back the items you've given them. Just like previously, there's a chat option to cancel recruiting but now with appropriate "Give my items back." remark. When already given items returned by NPC they are placed at player's feet. In addition to continuing or cancelling companion recruiting via "Deliver" chat mode it can be now done also via "Ask for help/company" chat mode. - added: leashing animals from depopulated villages It's now possible to leash animals from depopulated villages, and thus make them your own pets. There are some risks and exceptions, though. Sometimes domestic animals choose to fight back if their masters are dead and you try to leash them. And dogs can't be stolen this way at all - they always fight back rather than allow to be put on the leash. - added: ABOUT dialog to start screen main menu It shows the general version information and your installation folder. - added: setup options menu Most common setup options can be now changed from in-game setup menu. Editing urw_ini.txt remains for configuring more advanced options. Setup menu can be accessed from the start screen and from the game itself through newly added help and game options menu -> [ESC]. Editing setup options through the menu changes contents of urw_ini.txt accordingly. You'll always have the same active configuration running regardless of how you do it. - added: help and game options menu - [ESC] List of keyboard commands, game encyclopedia, setup options, saving and quitting can be now activated through a single menu. This menu is accessed by pressing [ESC] in the main game view and it eases newcomers troubles of memorizing keyboard commands or producing [?] symbol. - rearranged: list of keyboard commands [?] help page Outlook is fresh, list of commands is grouped a bit differently and the page can be scrolled also with mouse wheel. It also remembers the last position you were browsing. It's now hopefully a bit easier for newcomers to find and browse the commands. - added: hotkey to quickly save the character - [CTRL]+[s] Pressing CTRL+s saves the character and exits to main screen quickly and without confirmations. - added: when prompted to enter a number you can now type numbers also with numpad keys For example, when you're asked how many items to pick numpad cursor keys produce numbers. In all the other menus numpad keys move the selector. - added: dogs barking to warn of a danger and pets or companions crying in pain prompts to interrupt ongoing tasks TASK_ABORT_SOUNDS configuration option covers these new sound based task abort additions. - changed: auto zooming into your own settlement locates the character at where you last zoomed out - changed: Njerpeziläis scimitar renamed as 'Njerpez scimitar' - changed: Käpälälauta fox-trap renamed as 'Paw-board fox trap' - changed: DAGGER skill renamed as KNIFE - removed: SURVIVAL skill Actions that were covered by SURVIVAL skill are now remapped as follows: "Cut branches/twigs" is now done with TIMBERCRAFT skill. "Shelter" can be built with BUILDING skill. "Make a hole in the ice" is now done with FISHING skill or [q]uaff command. "Build a fire" has a new [f] key command of its own - improved: [q]uaff command now also covers making holes in the ice If [q]uaff command is used when there's ice but no open water around you it will ask if you want to make a hole in the ice. This naturally works only on zoomed-in map. when making a hole in the ice any previously made partially frozen hole in your sight is automatically selected if available - added: [f] - a new key command to build a fire - added: alternate pick up keys: [g] and [G] In addition to [,] and [;] pick up keys these alternate keys can be used as well: [g] - pick up something [G] - pick up from adjacent tile - changed mechanics: going on shore by watercraft When travelling by watercraft you may now go on shore only on zoomed in map. There's message to inform you about it if you try to go on shore on world map. This fixes odd automatic watercraft placement attempts, and makes it more convenient to raft on world map as you don't have to worry about accidentally going on shore. - changed mechanic: zooming out at water based terrain It's not allowed to zoom out at water based terrain, unless you are travelling by watercraft. This means you need to move away from lake, river, rapids, sea etc. water based zoomed in maps before it is allowed to zoom back out to world map. You'll get accustomed to this quite soon, and often it's only a few steps you need to take to cross the map border onto dry land. This change was made to get rid of glitches which arose from game's attempts to automatically locate walking characters on dry land on the world map. When repeatedly visiting zoomed in terrain beside the water, returning exactly from where you last zoomed out also works better without the world map relocation hassle. - added: broad knife is now preferred tool in hideworking Broad knife is the best and preferred tool in skinning carcasses and cleaning hides. Northern knife, hunting knife and kaumolais knife - in this order - are the second best tools for hideworking jobs. - added: stone knife - a new craftable weapon It's an awkward knife, but a knife nevertheless. Stone knife can be crafted with two rocks - one for blade, one for knapping. - added: broken arrows When arrows break they don't just disappear anymore as there's now a broken arrow item. Broken arrows aren't useful or weapons at all, but just firewood. - adjusted: bowshooting accuracy of skilled bowmen Skilled bowmen are now slightly more accurate. Nothing radical, just some fine tuning. - adjusted: battleaxe properties The earlier battleaxe type and its' description and properties were of an anachronistic fantasy weapon. Several changes have been made and now battleaxe in the game represents a long-shafted viking battleaxe which were single bladed, carefully balanced and relatively light weapons: - battleaxes are now lighter than previously, weighing around around 3.5 lbs. - battleaxes don't have point attack aspect anymore - the earlier fantasy battleaxe had a spike in the head - long-shafted battleaxes are still two-handed weapons but penalty from one-handed use now lesser than previously - game encyclopedia (F1) entry about battleaxes has been updated. - adjusted: descriptions of parts of the day There are a few new tags, and this is how it goes now: 12 pm Noon 13 pm Early afternoon 14 pm-15 pm Afternoon 16 pm-17 pm Late afternoon 18 pm Early evening 19 pm-20 pm Evening 21 pm Late evening 22 pm Night 23 pm Late night 00 am Midnight 1 am-2 am After midnight 3 am-5 am Small hours 6 am Early morning 8 am Morning 10 am-11 am Late morning - changed: 'laced leather shoes' replaced with 'leather boots' The item name here was odd and unclear and is now changed. Leather boots cover feet and calves, just like the laced leather shoes did. - corrected: weight of shoes and boots Shoes were too light. A pair of leather shoes now weigh 2 lbs. A pair of boots weigh 3.2 lbs. - corrected: knife weights All the knives were too heavy. This has been corrected and knives now weigh from 100 grams (small knife) to 180 grams (northern knife). Skaramasaksi weighs around 1.2 pounds. - fixed [windows]: system beep when using [ALT]+key This was SDL2 issue, which should be history now with new SDL2 version in use. - fixed/tweaked: foreign traders loitering at zoomed-in areas indefinitely Foreigners will now leave zoomed-in areas usually within 5-10 days from their arrival. - fixed: linen, nettle and woollen items not burning - fixed: "command" chat option to tell people to leave your settlement was broken Now you can command wandering people to leave your settlement if need be. - fixed: player character getting located inside animal pens upon entering a village - fixed: companion accepted weight limit It was bugged and companions accepted less items than what they could actually carry. Fixed now and we shouldn't bump into "Sorry, it's too much for me carry." nagging that often. - fixed: mushroom default nutritional values Mushrooms default nutritional values (per 100g) are now: carbs 3g, protein 2g, fat 1g - fixed: treeless lanes at borders of zoomed-in maps - fixed: foods not spoiling at all if you visited the storage location rarely enough - fixed: tracks not appearing on snow covered base rock or crag tiles - fixed: prone enemies could hit to any body location Now prone enemies can hit you only to lower part of the body, mostly the legs. - fixed: character's latest body temperature status not remembered correctly upon entering the game - fixed: beaver's diving status occasionally persisting when they get out of the water This resulted in invisible beavers walking around. - fixed: diving creatures mistakenly triggering notification about something entering your sight - even though you actually can't see them - fixed: wilderness map glitch of picked items sometimes appearing again after zooming in and returning This was a very rare condition, but caused occasional one-time duplication of items that were dropped and picked up on the wilderness map. - fixed: 'place for soaking' crafting requirement wasn't properly recognized when carrying a carcass - fixed: trapped birds occasionally being able to fly (for a very brief moment) - fixed: map maintenance occasionally failing to free any map space This resulted in frequent maintenance tries on every map load with no real progress. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------