We’ve been busy listening to everyone and improving some features. 1.26 will have a good deal of graphical improvements, performance tweaks and improvements along with some neat feature adds. [previewyoutube=33rQ4fESKZ0;full][/previewyoutube] [h3]Graphical Improvements (Environmental Changes)[/h3] Graphical improvements are a big part of 1.26 as is performance, as you can imagine the two go hand in hand. Andre has spent a good deal of time over the past couple of weeks improving vegetation shaders, fog shaders and lighting among numerous other visual changes. [h3]Fog and Lighting Improvements[/h3] We’ve improved fog effects in 1.26 leading to a more cohesive and eerie vibe all around. Fog has been a bit of a thorn in our side for some time, causing performance issues and just generally never looking right. There was a point where we had been happy, however, a river/ocean shader update through a wrench into the works. I would take a good deal of reworking and work around to get our original fog shader working again and that’s exactly what Andre has done for 1.26. We’ve reintroduced the old fog system which is made to work with our day cycle system. The results speak for themselves, along with the looks we’ve gained some performance which may be noticeable on low end rigs. Lighting has also been improved, you’ll notice bright crisp mid-day lighting. Colors have been balanced for an improved general atmosphere while also upping the creepy factor. We’ve tweaked lighting to reflect nature render changes. [list] [*] Reduced grain [*] Increased sun mesh brightness [*] General small tweaks to the lighting [*] Reduced AA and sharpening from AA to improve ghosting and fix black edges around some objects [*] Graphical improvements to terrain grass detail rendering [*] Improved sharpening on image effects to fix black outline around objects in the distance [*] Anti aliasing tweaks to fix ghosting and blurriness [*] Improved fog effects. [*] Water improvements to work with new fog [*] SpeedTree shader improvements [*] Sun now always visible when it should be. [*] Increased sun brightness for improved graphics [*] Improved resolution of distant terrain meshes. [*] Improved textures and resolution on terrains in the distance. [*] New distant tree models created for every type of tree. [*] Fix for bright campfire smoke in the distance [*] Fix for dark terrain lighting artifacts on grass and dirt in the distance [/list] [img]https://i.imgur.com/wIft2ja.png[/img] [i]Old fog system (with its issues)[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/FeX0Rfs.png[/img] [i]Added water fade to remove that rough edge[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/p7X7fAO.png[/img] [i]The results of updated fog/water shaders[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/gUzckMf.gif[/img] [i]Old and new fog comparison 1[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/r0hOt9Z.gif[/img] [i]Old and new fog comparison 2[/i] [h3]Full Resolution Comparison Shots[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/VcSPYY5.jpg[/img] [i]Mountain Sunset Before[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/0M8TLaX.jpg[/img] [i]Mountain Sunset After[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/GO8BG2G.jpg[/img] [i]Power Station Before[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/8YNR058.jpg[/img] [i]Power Station After[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/CXPXqzO.jpg[/img] [i]Union Point Before[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/cvf5GuE.jpg[/img] [i]Union Point After[/i] [h3]Graphical Improvement Shots[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/I4bT9HS.png[/img] [i]Powerplant [/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Pje6gBx.jpg[/img] [i]Mount Baron[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/b59IFHB.jpg[/img] [i]Dead lighting[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/oUGRPq8.jpg[/img] [i]RV in the fog[/i] [h3]Distant Terrains and Trees[/h3] The fog improvements aren’t the only environmental improvements to go into 1.26 another big performance and visual improvements are distant terrains and trees. These terrains and trees are loaded at a distances and drastically help with performances. The new distant terrains and trees are more visually pleasing along with being better on performance. [img]https://i.imgur.com/ivfIlL7.gif[/img] [i]Distant terrain old/new[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/VmUMach.gif[/img] [i]In game distant trees/terrain old/new[/i] [h3]Working Vehicle Flatbeds[/h3] Something we’ve wanted to get into the game since the concept (as seen in the concept) was working pickup beds and trailers. We’re working on the trailers but 1.26 will feature the start of vehicle improvements, fortifications and functionality with the introduction of working flatbeds. You can now store goods right in the back of the pickup trucks in game. Even the police variant will allow you to physically place and store items. This will increase the value of flatbed trucks greatly, we’ve also re-introduced the log! Cutting down a tree will now yield a larger, heavier log. This log is hard to transport but can be easily stored in the back of your pickup along with all your other gear. The items on flatbeds aren’t just cosmetic, you can use a campfire for a tailgate, you can run a set of propane traps from the rear and create a rolling wall of fire. We will be greatly expanding on proper fortifications, 1.26 introduced the features and we look forward to your feedback for further additions. [img]https://i.imgur.com/m0xZ8Xb.jpg[/img] [i]Camping on the go[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/TzVTfFc.jpg[/img] [i]Power, wood, fuel and more[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4ho934d.jpg[/img] [i]Night time cook out[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/4wMTwhK.gif[/img] [i]Roast Zombie[/i] [h3]Crafting and Inventory Improvements[/h3] We've watched a lot of YouTube videos and live streams of the game over the past couple of weeks and one major thing that has stood out to us is the need to make our inventory/UI experience cohesive. We've rolled out category dividers, sorting and click windows to the containers and crafting pages. Streamlined the dropping/moving/moving all flows and introduced a quick craft button via the crafting lists click window. While there's still improvements to be made, these changes should make things nicer to use. [b]Crafting/UI[/b] [list] [*] Crafting categories are opened automatically when filtering items via the search option. [*] Newly unlocked craftables are now labelled so they’re easy to find. [*] Added click window functionality to the craftable items list. [*] Added ability to quick craft via the click window. [*] Crafting complete sound now plays when crafting max. [*] Scroll position is saved when returning to the craftables list from a recipe. [/list] [b]Inventory/UI[/b] [list] [*] Player inventory now only automatically returns to the ‘All’ tab after 30s without accessing the inventory. [*] Consumables now show in the relevant tab in player storage. [*] "Take" buttons from containers and updated UI to use the Click window method the same as the inventory. [*] Added 'Take All' button for each stack of items within a container. [*] Containers now have category divider to match the inventory [*] Containers are now sorted in the same way and the inventory. [*] Move All button only shows when moving to container when quantity of item is greater than 1. [*] Containers can now be sorted the same as the Inventory. [*] Click window no longer closes when dropping items if the quantity is over 1. [*] Improved spacing around items in the container window to match the inventory. [/list] [img]https://i.imgur.com/S8c0Fai.gif[/img] [i]Searching now opens categories[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/uafRYyC.gif[/img] [i]Quicker crafting with the updated click window[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/cs62FFp.gif[/img] [i]Crafting sorting and sort by level[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Fb9bMzD.gif[/img] [i]Container dividers[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/dyQAgKc.gif[/img] [i]Click window and move all in containers[/i] [h3]Community Spotlight[/h3] We’ve had some great content come in from all kinds of folk, some on our [url=https://discord.gg/survivethenights]discord[/url], some on YouTube and our workshop. With every update we’ll try to feature some community content for everyone to check out. [b]Screenshots[/b] The team loved the screenshots on our Discord that our buddy [b]@Snail Tax Informer[/b] posted of his rolling fortress while testing out the new vehicle flatbeds! [img]https://i.imgur.com/9aVhyMB.png[/img] [i]@Snail Tax Informer’s flatbed setup[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/PrvGMad.png[/img] [i]The gear[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/loFmfPn.png[/img] [i]The result ːsteamhappyː [/i] [previewyoutube=BL8eIr1r1Dg;full][/previewyoutube] [h3]Workshop Scenario[/h3] There are some fantastic scenarios on Steams workshop currently and we’ve had a good play over most. Today we’d like to feature Steam/Discord user RXK1NG's “The Walking Dead” scenario. As he puts it himself [list] [*] A hardcore experience for even the best of survivors. This is a true test of your survival skills. [/list] Loot is lowered, headshots only kill zombies, nutrition requirements are higher, and all zombies walk, even on horde. But they do high damage, so choose your encounters cautiously! [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2948581842][img]https://i.imgur.com/yWieTHi.png[/img][/url] [h3]YouTube Videos[/h3] [url=https://www.youtube.com/@gameedged]GameEdged[/url] as always been there for us, showing the team and the game a great deal of support through the years. He’s a solid dude and always seems to have a blast playing Survive the Nights. In his (as of now) latest STN build GameEdged takes on the police station! [previewyoutube=PyZN9wbgOBk;full][/previewyoutube] [h3]Patch Notes - 1.26 [/h3] [b]Hotfix[/b] [list] [*] 1.26.4 Further sorting fixes with vehicle containers. [*] 1.26.4 improved guide wording for crafting logs into wood. [*] 1.26.4 Fixed issue with items not always geting gravity correctly. [*] 1.26.4 Campfire grill and cooking pot now move with vehicle on flatbed. [*] 1.26.4 Log models tweaked to improve scale and allow them to be placed in vehicle flatbeds. [*] 1.26.3 Fixed issue that allowed duping/breaking of container storage. [*] 1.26.2 Fixed issue which caused black screen when entering vehicles. [/list] [b]Vehicle Flatbeds[/b] [list] [*] Items can now be placed inside of pickup truck beds [/list] [b]Environment & Graphics[/b] [list] [*] Graphical improvements to terrain grass detail rendering [*] Improved sharpening on image effects to fix black outline around objects in the distance [*] Anti aliasing tweaks to fix ghosting and blurriness [*] Improved fog effects. [*] Water improvements to work with new fog [*] Speedtree shader improvements [*] Sun now always visible when it should be. [*] Increased sun brightness for improved graphics [*] Improved resolution of distant terrain meshes. [*] Improved textures and resolution on terrains in the distance. [*] New distant tree models created for every type of tree. [*] Fix for bright campfire smoke in the distance [*] Fix for dark terrain lighting artifacts on grass and dirt in the distance [*] Fixed large trash pile that zombies could walk through. [*] Removed tree that was inside house. [*] Removed bushes that were inside strip mall. [*] Removed small decal type details from on top of items that can be recycled. [*] Fixed floating bathtubs [*] Fixed issue where bath colliders were rotated causing weird collision. [/list] [b]Inventory[/b] [list] [*] Stew button now greyed when items cannot be stewed. [*] Fixed doubled move button when trying to move weapons to containers. [*] Fixed weapons with attachments moving to containers when using “move all.” [*] Fixed issue which stopped items like nails stacking correctly when moving between inv and containers. [*] Player inventory now only automatically returns to the ‘All’ tab after 30s without accessing the inventory. [*] Consumables now show in the relevant tab in player storage. [*] "Take" buttons from containers and updated UI to use the Click window method the same as the inventory. [/list] [b]Container Storage[/b] [list] [*] Added 'Take All' button for each stack of items within a container. [*] Containers now have category divider to match the inventory. [*] Containers are now sorted in the same way and the inventory. [*] Move All button only shows when moving to container when quantity of item is greater than 1. [*] Containers can now be sorted the same as the Inventory. [*] Click window no longer closes when dropping items if the quantity is over 1. [*] Improved spacing around items in the container window to match the inventory. [*] Improved notification when trying to move items that are not allowed into a container. [*] Large carry only objects can no longer be placed in containers. [*] Added recipe for log to wood 1 log = 6 wood 5 sec craft pending wood mill speeds [/list] [b]Crafting [/b] [list] [*] Crafting categories are opened automatically when filtering items via the search option. [*] Newly unlocked craftables are now labelled so they’re easy to find. [*] Added click window functionality to the craftable items list. [*] Added ability to quick craft via the click window. [*] Crafting complete sound now plays when crafting max. [*] Scroll position is saved when returning to the craftables list from a recipe. [/list] [b]UI General[/b] [list] [*] Fix for Filter By Most Subscribed only showing 2 scenarios in the scenario list browser [*] Large cooking pot name changed to “Cooking pot” [*] Mental health description improved. [*] Changed however descriptions from “Search” to “Recycle” on items that are fully cleaned up. [*] Small localization fixes. [/list] [b]Performance [/b] [list] [*] Improved stuttering caused by terrain grass details [*] Lighting tweaks to compliment image effect improvements [*] General image effect improvements and performance fixes [/list] [b]Interaction[/b] [list] [*] Fix for difficult interaction with campfire when a grill is placed on top [*] Fix for not being to place items near water [*] Improved campfire placement when trying to place on bumpy ground [*] Improved collision detection on prison draw bridge button. [/list] [b]Pickups / Loot[/b] [list] [*] Fixed issue that stopped the campfire grill being able to be picked up in certain circumstances. [*] Changed category on sleeping bag drop so it shows up in building tab with the rest of the home stuff. [*] Loot can now spawn near players when the server has just started. [*] Log/wood weights are now consistent. [/list] [b]Fortification[/b] [list] [*] Fix for fortifications disappearing when moving away caused by the combining not working [/list] [b]Admin[/b] [list] [*] New player/welcome message config option now implemented. [*] Disabling drone camera smoothing now disables smooth movement and fov changes on top of mouse movement [/list] [b]Links[/b] Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights Patreon: https://patreon.com/a2zinteractive Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive Website: https://www.survivethenights.net Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive