Topics

1

Bug reports / [3.63] Off-by-one error in herb collecting quest when delivering multiple stacks

« on: August 25, 2020, 05:30:36 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happened: Nilla the old kuikka-tribe man asked me to bring him 30 bunches of mother pipe leaves. After a number of adventures, I succeeded in collecting enough, but due to freshness they formed two stacks, neither of which was 30 by itself, but combined were 30 overall. I handed each to him via the quest screen, and he remarks "this is not all that I want" (or something similar. Upon handing him an additional single bunch of leaves, he remarks "you've fetched me all the precious bunches", and the quest completes.

What's expected: Delivering the exact amount in two stacks completes the quest, rather than needing the exact amount +1.

Steps to reproduce: Have not attempted to reproduce, but presume just handing herbs over in two operations would do so.

2

Suggestions / "What are you doing?" option for followers

« on: August 18, 2020, 12:32:16 PM »

Party members can be helpful with all sorts of things, but it's not always clear what they're doing at any particular time. Are they felling trees? Cooking meat? Making boards? All of the above?

Having a "What are you doing?" option in the command menu would be great to see what a companion's current task(s) are.

3

Not bugs / [3.63] NPC hunters don't pick up their arrows.

« on: August 18, 2020, 12:29:30 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happened: Set a small deadfall trap and went about my business. Came back to discover an animal had triggered the trap, but an NPC hunter had killed it (with arrows), and was in the process of skinning and butchering it. However the NPC hunter made no attempt to ever pick up the many arrows that he had shot and left lying around.

What's expected: Hunters pick up arrows they've shot, at least if they're nearby.

Steps to reproduce: Have not attempted to reproduce.

Notes: Not only did the hunter steal my kill, but after butchering the carcass he then set my trap on fire to roast the meat, so I didn't feel so bad about stealing his arrows. I've also come across hunters that weren't stealing my kills, and they don't collect their arrows either.

4

Bug reports / [3.63] Trading for "almost all your reward" can take whole reward.

« on: August 18, 2020, 12:21:44 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happened: Completed "The forest is humming" quest, and received six squirrel hides worth of credit. I traded for a small knife, and then a second small knife as a separate trade. On the second trade, I was told it would use up "almost all of my reward", but then got a message that it also used up all of my reward (which it did). I presume I used up exactly my whole reward.

What's expected: Using up exactly your whole reward says it will use your whole reward.

Steps to reproduce: Have not attempted to reproduce.

Screenshot:

5

Bug reports / [3.63] Tame reindeers can sleepwalk

« on: August 12, 2020, 03:37:07 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happens: I have a tame reindeer doe that I tied to a tree. When I came back, it was sleeping. I untied it from the tree, expecting it to wake up, but instead it remained asleep. It continues to move with me as per normal on the leash, but it's shown as sleeping, both as a graphic and when inspected with F3.

What's expected: Reindeer wake up when their leashes are tugged on, or refuse to move while sleeping.

6

Bug reports / [3.63] Tame reindeer have inconsistent carrying capacity with small items

« on: August 11, 2020, 03:57:20 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happens: I have a tame reindeer doe that can happily lift 150lbs in slender trunks, but I get "Burden of X is too much for Reiny to carry!" messages after packing on variety of small light items, such as feathers or dried meats.

What's expected: Reindeer and other animals can carry the same weight, regardless of what that's composed of.

Notes: It appears the reindeer can only carry 20 inventory entries, and once they're filled it can't take any more. This makes it poorly suited for keeping my inventory clear of miscellany, such as feathers, small furs, food, cords, and tools. ;(

I've made a snapshot of my save which I can provide upon request.

Edit: Many folks have mentioned the item limit is by design, but that design decision is not exposed to the player, as there's no difference in message between exceeding the item limit or the weight limit.

Having separate messages for each ("That is too heavy for X to carry" vs "You can't find a way to organise that many items on X"), or having the animal inventory display how many slots remained, would make it clear which limit is being reached.

7

Solved'n'fixed bug reports / [Fixed - persists in 3.63] Info for Mallard shows raven instead

« on: August 10, 2020, 04:26:48 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happens: When using F3 to view a mallard, pressing F1 shows the entry for ravens.

What's expected: Either a mallard entry exists and is shown, or a 'no info' screen is provided.

Notes:

This may also happen for other birds which lack info screens, but I have not tested that.

8

Bug reports / [3.63] Villagers will suggest items that are too low-value to be bartered

« on: July 28, 2020, 11:48:35 AM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happens: Villagers can suggest an item in trade, but then declare it 'unworthy' when you offer it to them.

What's expected: Villagers only suggest items they're willing to accept.

How discovered:

• In a village with neutral reputation, trading for a dried pike
• Offered two rough arrows, was told I'm "just a few more things away"
• Ask "What of my items you'd prefer in this trade?" and be told "It's hard to decide, but how about your fistful of crowberries?"
• Offer my fistful of crowberries, and be told "That crowberries is unworthy in this barter".

[Spoiler:]

9

Gameplay questions / [Spoilers] Which bow is best? Aiming to resolve confusion around bows

« on: July 21, 2020, 04:49:27 AM »

There's a regular debate around the bow accuracy stat on the wiki, and it left me wondering... Are shortbows really more accurate than Northern Bows? What's going on here?

So, having recently found myself with extra time on my hands thanks to the global pandemic, I fired up ghidra and spent some time decompiling UnReal World 3.62 to see what's really going on.

Decompiling code isn't exactly straightforward; one gets the instructions executed by the CPU, not the original source code, so there's a lot of piecing things together and sleuthing required. But I think I've managed to get to the bottom of this particular open question, and Sami has been extremely kind in letting me share my results.

Before I get into spoilers, I want to point out that the in-game manual on missile combat gives an accurate description that appears to be confirmed by code:

Success at firing an arrow or throwing a weapon depends on the applicable weapon skill. This is a common combat rule and missile attacks are no exception, but your performance only determines the initial quality of the shot/throw, ie. how much your aiming is off and how accurately you manage to send your missile on its course. The worse your performance the wider the cone of spread is possible, so it's not always guaranteed that a good shot/throw will result in a good strike at exact location of impact. Even a minor deviation from the intended trajectory will accumulate over distance. Any shot/throw is bound to hit better at close range, and the further the target, the more precision is required. Should your missile miss the original target or  even fly completely wild, it can still hit something else on its course - unfortunately this could be also your own dog.

A target that is being attacked by a missile weapon can't choose any conscious defense maneuver as in melee combat, but moving targets can still avoid getting hit. This defense possibility for moving targets is automated and it doesn't matter if the target is aware of the attack or not. A target is considered moving if it is actively running, flying, escaping etc. from one location to another, but also when it's making fast movements in its place like when engaged in a fight. The faster the target is moving the better chance it has to make it out of the way or to make a lucky movement in its place and unintentionally dodge the missile. This is based on the target's actual mobility and manner of moving, so if the target is slowed down due to physical penalties or for whatever reason, its chances to avoid missile attacks are lowered accordingly. Naturally, it's not only the target's speed that matters but the missile velocity as well. It's easier for any moving target to make it out of the way of low-velocity missiles, but very fast animals will be challenging to hit even with bow and arrow - and exceedingly challenging if they are both fast and small.

So straight up, the game tells you the important factors involved are:

• Your missile skill, which determines the accuracy cone
• Distance to target, which determines how much aiming errors can accumulate
• Size of target, which determines what you need to hit
• Mobility and activity of target, which determines their chance of getting out of the way
• Missile velocity, which reduces the chance of a target dodging

None of this mentions "weapon accuracy", and Sami has confirmed in a PM to me that:

If the bow accuracy would really be radically different between bows it surely would have been mentioned in the game information.

So I can confidently say that the accuracy figure on the wiki is extremely misleading. It does mean something, but you are almost certainly never going to encounter that in the game. Read the spoiler section below if you really want to know, and also have a little more bow mechanics revealed.

Spoiler: show

Every item in the game has an 'accuracy' figure, it's a measure of how un-aerodynamic the object itself is. Arrows and javelins have the lowest number (1), whereas plants and articles of clothing can have numbers in the hundreds. Items with lower numbers are more accurate when used as a missile. So if, in desperation, you were to throw your actual bow at an opponent, you could make a more precise throw with a Northern Bow ('accuracy' 5) than a heavy crossbow ('accuracy' 10).

To be clear, unless you are throwing the bow itself, this 'accuracy' value has no effect.

Your weapon skill, and the item quality (of both bow and arrow) all appear to contribute to tightening the cone of spread, with poor quality items making it especially hard to shoot straight. There is also a velocity calculation which is determined by the square of the bow's piercing/point stat, plus a constant (which appears to be the same for all bows). Higher powered bows (such as the longbow and Northern bow) will shoot higher velocity missiles, resulting in more damage on impact, and reducing the time a target has to get out of the way.

I presume, but have not confirmed, that higher velocity missiles also means missed shots will travel father, and are more likely to break on impact.

I have not checked to see if a bow's weight has any relevance on missile velocity. My gut feeling says it does not, but I do not have evidence to support that. Nor have I checked to see if the bows have different shooting speeds.

Many thanks again to Sami for not only an incredible game that's brought me much joy throughout the years, but also for his understanding and support when I decided to dig further into its mysteries!

~ Teellox

10

Bug reports / [3.63] Resuming digging via build menu gives a "Object header not found!" error

« on: July 18, 2020, 02:41:33 PM »

Version: Unreal World 3.63, Linux/Steam build, unmodded

What happens: Partially digging a pit, and then selecting 'continue paused process' from the build menu gives a "Error! Object header not found!" message. Continuing by activating the shovel a second time works fine. The game does not crash or experience any other problems except for the error message.

What's expected: Digging a pit can be resumed from the build menu, or a message is given telling the player to activate the shovel again.

Steps to reproduce:

• Activate a shovel, and begin to dig a pit.
• Interrupt the activity with Escape
• Use the build menu `+BP` to "Continue paused process"
• Observe the "Error! Object header not found!" message in the message window.

Many thanks again for such an excellent game!

11

Bug reports / [3.60 beta hotfix 3] Disassembling a light lever trap takes 30 minutes

« on: September 26, 2019, 07:33:02 AM »

What happens: Disassembling a light lever trap takes 30 minutes, even though they take only a few minutes to construct.

Expected: Small deadfalls take only a little time to disassemble.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Make a small deadfall trap.
2. Disassemble it.

—

Edit: Originally reported this with the small deadfall, but my testing was actually on a light lever. Updated title and description.

12

Solved'n'fixed bug reports / [Fixed - 3.60beta hotfix2] Disassembling deadfall trap results in extra rope

« on: September 23, 2019, 09:55:36 AM »

What happens: When disassembling a small deadfall trap, 12ft of tying equipment (in my case, birch bark rope) is returned, even though only 3ft is used in its construction.

What I expect to happen: Disassembling a trap returns the same length of tying equipment as was used to create it.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Make some birch bark rope
2. Build a small deadfall trap (Alt-R, 2)
3. Observe the recipe only calls for and uses 3ft of rope.
4. Disassemble the trap (Alt-R, D)
5. Observe your new piece of rope that's longer than 3ft!

13

Stories / A bear-hunting trip gone wrong...

« on: March 27, 2019, 12:01:14 AM »

Hey everyone!

I wrote a twitter thread the other day after playing Unreal World, and thought I'd share the text of it here as well.

The text matches that on Twitter, so everything is a short paragraph to fit into the character limit. But the whole experience was a big 'wow' moment for me, and made me really appreciate just how much effort has been put into Unreal World.

Sami, thank you again for an incredible game!

—

I'm super fond of simulation games where the mechanics result in good stories. Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld are shining examples.

Recently, I've been playing Unreal World, a roguelike survival game that's been under active development since 1992! It's been *incredible*.
Unreal World is set in fictional Finland, during the iron age. There's hunting, fishing, building, crafting, trading... all the stuff that I love.

Our story here begins in early winter. The lakes are starting to freeze. Game is becoming more scarce...

But I'm well prepared. I've a small dwelling, a stockpile of smoked fish and elk cuts, a single pig, and my trusty hunting dog.

My character, Hawk, wrapped in furs, decides it's the perfect time to explore. Perhaps I can find a shaman to teach me ritual, or even a bear den.

I pack my spear, bow, arrows, tools, and smoked meat. Since I'll be exploring new ground, I also pack some things to trade; a selection of fine axes I've picked up, and some furs from successful hunts.

I leave my dog to keep watch at my cabin, in case predators go after the pig.

I head north, towards my ancestral homelands. After days of cross-country I begin to come across small villages, but they're digging in for the winter as well. Not much is happening there.

And then, climbing a large hill to get a better view of the land, I spot someone.

It's not often I see others in the wilderness, especially this far north as the grass is replaced by snow. They could be a trader, or even a fellow hunter. I only caught a glimpse of them through the trees in the distance.

I make my way through the woods to see.

I get closer and get a better look. It's clear they're not a trader, and looking at their gear they're not a hunter.

I've heard talk of bandits, and while I've not been spotted, I slowly and quietly make my way back out of sight... when I step on a twig.

They turn, and head straight towards me. I try to duck and weave through the trees, but I'm loaded down with trading goods, and they're not. They rapidly close.

I get told I can hand over my valuables, or they'll take them by force.

But one guy? Surely I can take one guy.

I respond with a thrust of my spear, but he dodges out of the way, and strikes at me with his axe.

I don't succeed in dodging, and the blade slices my knee, and I'm instantly down on the ground.

Then I see it's not a lone bandit, there are *three*.

I can't fight three with a knee injury, and I try to surrender, but it's too late. Two more blows fall, and then everything goes dark.

I awake, sometime later... My tools are gone, my weapons are gone, even the furs I was wearing are gone.

It's dark, and snowing...

A few of my possessions are still around. My food, a bandage, some arrows, and a fine squirrel skin they must have missed.

A wound on my leg is bleeding profusely. I bandage it up, and try to get a fire started using fallen branches. Somehow I succeed.

I take stock of my situation. A gash on my head looks bad, but doesn't seem serious... I try to stand, but my knee isn't going to take it...

I have enough strength to pull some branches off a nearby tree, and skill to fashion a crude stone knife.

Getting a fire running I eat some of my smoked meats, drink from my waterskin, and fall asleep.

I awake, cold, but alive. The bleeding seems to have stopped.

But I'm injured, in the middle of nowhere, with almost no tools, valuables, or even clothes...

My rations assumed I could hunt or trade for food, and now both of those aren't possible... Somehow my fishing rod is still okay.

Rather than crawl south, I head north, to a small lake I camped by two seasons ago.

I move slowly, having to stop for fire, food, and rest.

I make it to the lake. My food is gone, and I've been eating late season mushrooms and lingonberries I've been foraging along the way.

Water is life. I can't hunt, but I *can* fish. Dragging a small stack of firewood to the lakeside, I knock a hole in the ice, and hope...

The lake does not disappoint. After an hour I hook an enormous pike, weighing seven pounds, and a few smaller fish follow.

Despite my gnawing hunger I set one fish down as an offering of thanks to the spirits, and begin roasting the others.

In other circumstances, I would consider settling down here while I heal. The lake provides fish. The forest has mushrooms. I can build traps to catch the odd bird or hare.

But I'm in the north. I have almost no clothes. I know I won't survive the winter.

So I spend a couple of days by the lake, treating my wounds, crafting a stone axe, resting, and catching more fish than I eat.

My knee still won't support my weight, but I've stabilised. So I head off south, slowly, and harvesting any plants and mushrooms I see along the way.

After what feels like forever, I arrive at a village. I'm cold, and starving, but the villagers are good people, they give me food and shelter. A shaman applies a poultice to my wounds.

One villager asks if I'd take a message to the next village over.

I'm not sure he really looked at my injuries, but the next village is very close, and he says he'll pay five squirrel-skins of goods if I do it soon.

That's not much, but it's a fortune in my current state. I accept. Normally it'd be a few hours walk, it takes me a day.

I return, and ask for some of my reward to be more food, which I devour hungrily.

There are fires in the village, but everyone else has winter furs, and I do not. I start to fell a small tree for wood, and am promptly told that I'm not to do that in the village.

I figured I'd stay a few days to gain my strength and heal, but it seems anything I do to stay alive gains the ire of the villagers. I can't set traps. I can't light fires.

I'm told I'm no longer welcome, and asked to leave, even without the rest of my reward. I don't argue.

I continue south. Each day feels like it's nothing but harvesting wood, lighting fires, tending to my injuries, and being unable to sleep from the hunger.

I'm far from any lakes, shivering from cold, and slowly wasting away. I'm sure I'm done for.

But one day, I test my knee, and while painful, it holds my weight. I can stand enough to swing my stone axe. I can walk at a hobbling pace.

The days are dark and cold, but I think I might actually get through this.

I make it to another village, and I'm literally weak with hunger. I hand over that squirrel skin in trade for food.

I know these people don't let me light fires, but I can add firewood to their own fires. I do so, and they seem pleased.

I eat and rest. I feel hope.

The next week is rough, but I have dried food from the village, I can walk, I can harvest wood.

The land starts to look familiar.

I make it home.

My dog is still here, and delighted to see me!

I crawl into my cabin, light the fire, and collapse.

This was an *incredible* experience that had me up until 2am. I was so engrossed I lost track of time. All because Unreal World has *so much* attention to detail and game mechanics.

If you like survival roguelikes, and don't mind a learning curve, it's superb.

14

Suggestions / Quality of Life Improvements

« on: March 18, 2019, 09:51:09 AM »

Hey Sami!

Thank you for an incredible game! I'm about 60 hours in, and loving it. While I do have some suggestions, they're mostly on the quality-of-life side of things.

This is a bit of a grab-bag, but if any of them prove to be useful, I'm honoured!

Suggestions:

• Have cords for smoking/drying be 'used up', the same way bark for tanning works. Otherwise, have each cord hold at most 10 food items (as opposed to the first cord holding 19).
• When displaying inventory for selecting an item, only display items that can be selected for that task. For example, when setting a net, only display nets.
• A 'move until interesting' command. I often find myself walking in straight lines a lot, and my pinky wears out. Being able to move in a direction until the character spots an animal, the player hits escape, or another event that would normally interrupt crafting would be superb. (Suggested hotkey: Alt-8)
• A 'sort inventory' key. Keep the categories, but allow them all to be sorted alphabetically, by weight, by freshness, or (if fancy) by type (meats, fish, herbs, vegetables, etc).
• Assigning hotkeys to items. Setting my bow to '1', arrows to '2', and paddle to '3' means I can type 'w1' to grab my bow, 'w2' to ready an arrow, and 'w3' when it's time to go rafting. This would be a big saver on inventory time.
• A 'find' hotkey for inventory selection, so I can search for 'spoiled' or 'blunt' or other strings. (Suggested hotkey: '/')
  
• I know already discussed elsewhere, but wear on tools would be fantastic, so this is me adding a +1 to that. Having to go travelling to find a new axe, or having my 'good knife' that's only used for skinning is something I'd relish.
• Wear on tools depends upon quality. High quality tools wear out slower.
• Indoor cellars
• Ability to keep the music on the title screen (I really like the music!), but remove it from the in-game map, armour view, etc.
• Birds (grouse, mostly) sometimes seem to fly in place. This seems odd.
• Animals don't seem to be especially afraid of dogs. A fox snuck into my dog pen and ate their food!
• A 'gate' item that costs more than a fence, and acts like a fence to animals, but can be moved through by humans without a climbing check.

Thanks again for a magnificent game!

~ T