[h3][b]Greetings, Viceroys![/b][/h3] Last week, we released [url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1336490/view/4525647157467807753]an Experimental Branch update with the new upcoming biome[/url] - the Ashen Thicket. We're grateful to everyone who decided to give it a try and shared their thoughts. We've received a lot of feedback about the new biome over the past few days, and we just released a new patch in which we tried to address some of your comments. With this patch, we wanted to not only tweak the numbers in existing systems, but also add some new things and experiment a bit with the overall feel/identity of the new biome. So, after a lot of internal back and forth, we settled on an idea that seemed very promising - the Ashen Thicket as a biome heavily focused on mining and industry. In particular, we've changed the way you acquire Thunderblight Shards, rebalanced the resource layout in the Ashen Thicket, and added a new passive effect that buffs mines. We have also decided to add a brand-new "mineable" good to the game - Salt. With the addition of this new resource, we try to flesh out the mining part of the game, and also help with some existing recipes that could use a little boost - like Biscuits or Paste. All of these additions seemed to fit together nicely and added to the overall "industrial wasteland" feel of the Ashen Thicket. Of course, in the meantime, we have also tried to address the more basic things - like the numerical balance of some of the rewards and triggers in the Cornerstone Forge. We hope that all of this combined will have a positive impact on the new biome. You can read more about all the changes below. [h3]New content[/h3] [list][*] Added a new resource - Salt.[list][*] Salt is obtained in the Mine and requires Salt veins. [*] The byproduct of Salt veins is Sea Marrow (with a 30% drop rate). [*] Added Salt to multiple existing recipes.[list][*] Biscuits [*] Paste (as a substitute for Dye) [*] Crystalized Dew [*] Incense [*] Jerky (as a substitute of fuel) [*] Waterskins[/list][*] Added Salt to some traders and trade routes for settlements in certain biomes. [*] Added Salt to reward packs from the Hooded Trickster and Strider Port. [*] Added Salt as a reward in some Glade Events. [*] Salt is now also a byproduct of Kelpwood Trees in the Coastal Grove and Water Strider Molt nodes. [*] Added Salt veins to the Ashen Thicket, Sealed Forest, and Coral Forest.[/list][*] Added 3 new orders related to Salt.[list][*] Salt Miner [*] Salty Delivery [*] Salt Fever[/list][*] Added a new perk related to Salt.[list][*] [b]Salt Pick[/b] - +1 to Salt production. Gain an additional Salt every yield (from gathering, farming, fishing, or production).[/list][*] Added a new type of Rainpunk Drill that can spawn in small glades. It spawns salt veins after being repaired. [*] Added a new biome effect to the Ashen Thicket.[list][*] [b]Royal Mining Operation[/b] - This region is well known for its rich mineral and ore deposits. Every 2 workers in a mine increase the chances of producing double yields while mining by 3%. [*] This, combined with the addition of Salt, the change to the old biome effect, and the rebalance of resources (listed in the balance section below) should result in a more mining-focused playstyle in the Ashen Thicket. We hope that this will be a step in the direction of a more unique biome identity.[/list][/list] [h3]Balance[/h3] [list][*] Rebalanced multiple triggers, rewards, and penalties in the Cornerstone Forge.[list][*] The exact changes to the Cornerstone Forge are too numerous to count, so we will focus on the general direction and some notable examples in this section of the changelog. [*] Removed some uninteresting or incorrectly scaling triggers. For example: “ongoing events”, “workers in upgraded Geyser Pump”. [*] Removed some of the least interesting rewards. For example: Incense, Resin, Grace Period, trader arrival speed, newcomer arrival rate. [*] Changed the numbers in a lot of hooks to make them more appealing. For example: dead villagers, produce pottery, working engines, ongoing trade routes, and more. [*] Buffed some rewards. For example: trade route speed, hostility, goods in general. [*] Added new rewards to the pool. For example: Sea Marrow, species Resolve, chance for double rewards from events, Parts. [*] Added new triggers to the pool. For example: constructed geyser Pumps. [*] Rebalanced a lot of penalties. For example: impatience, resolve. [*] Removed some penalties. For example: destroy buildings, yearly Blood Flowers. [*] Added new penalties. For example: higher perk prices, impatience rate. [*] Reduced the number of penalty choices from 4 to 3. [*] Adjusted how some rewards are drawn with what triggers. For example: retroactive triggers should now have rewards that scale better with them.[/list][*] Rebalanced the resource makeup of the Ashen Thicket.[list][*] Removed Grain nodes. [*] Added Root nodes. [*] Added Coal and Salt veins. [*] Added Sea Marrow to trees. [*] Increased the spawn rate of veins.[/list][*] Changed how Thunderblight Shard acquisition works in the Ashen Thicket.[list][*] Removed the old biome effect and added a new one. [*] [b]Deeply Hidden Riches[/b] - Gain a Thunderblight Shard for mining 50 Copper Ore, Coal, and Salt (combined). You can receive up to 3 shards, each requiring more resources to be mined. [*] Subsequent Shards require more mining. The second one requires 150, the last one 250.[/list][*] Biscuits can now be made using Eggs.[/list] [h3]UI/UX[/h3] [list][*] Changed the description of the Cornerstone Forge biome effect to clearly state which Cornerstone choices (in which years) are removed when playing in the Ashen Thicket (rather than just vaguely stating that there are fewer choices). [*] Updated the Mine description for clarity.[/list] [h3]Bug fixes[/h3] [list][*] Fixed a bug where workers would sometimes not carry or fetch resources from the closest warehouse (and walk to one that is far away instead). [*] Fixed a bug where the Cornerstone Forge biome effect did not remove Epic Cornerstone choices from games in the Ashen Thicket, despite the description stating that it did.[list][*] After the fix, Epic Cornerstones will no longer be offered to players in Years 3, 5, and 7.[/list][*] Fixed a bug where random resource rewards were not being counted correctly in the Experimental Cornerstone tooltip. [*] Fixed a bug where Experimental Cornerstone tooltips would stay on the screen after closing the forge window with ESC. [*] Fixed a bug where the Big Shelter Ruin was still spawning in certain biomes. [*] Fixed a bug where a DLC-locked biome could appear in a Daily Expedition. [*] Fixed a bug where events were incorrectly displayed in the in-game encyclopedia. [*] Fixed a bug where some rewards and triggers were being drawn twice in the same pool of options in the Cornerstone Forge. [*] Fixed a bug where the ruined Fishing Hut had incorrect rewards tied to the “salvage” option. [*] Fixed a bug where the “fulfill service needs” trigger had a missing tooltip. [*] Fixed a bug that was drawing the wrong reward in the Cornerstone Forge instead of the Hostility reduction effect. [*] Fixed a bug where the “workers in upgraded mine” trigger was not working.[/list] [i]The current Experimental Branch version is 1.5.03.[/i] Once you give it a try, please let us know how you like the new changes! [b]May the storm be gentle on you,[/b] Eremite Games