Exp. Update 0.05.E8

Exp. Update 0.05.E8 is an update for Stranded Deep released on December 2, 2015.

There’s been a few changes and improvements to the building system with this build. We removed the requirement to craft panels before crafting walls. It was more complicated than it needed to be and was really only to keep the functionality the same for salvageable panels. Now it’s back to how it used to be – walls will list their materials required, whether that be sticks and rocks or a container panel. There’s also been a lot of refining and constraints added to the building. Wall placement has been improved. Building pieces now have proper collision detection. Buildings are also “structure” based now and you can’t place another structure too close to another. See the changelog for more info.

It’s also worth mentioning that now we’ve got the base of some core features implemented, we’ll be putting the experimental branch on the backburner and focusing on the stable branch again. If you weren’t aware, the experimental branch is for times when we’re implementing and experimenting with new systems that are changing every day. At this point, the new terrain, ocean and building system are stable enough that we can move forward on the stable branch. But don’t let the “Stable” connotation trick you – this is Early Access and there will still be some bugs!

Bug Fixes

 * Fixed visual glitches when snapping building pieces.
 * Fixed building pieces being able to snap in the wrong position.
 * Fixed an issue with cameras using different culling methods.
 * Fixed missing Depth of Field shader.
 * Fixed player sticking to climbable trees unintentionally.
 * Fixed player randomly sticking to colliders.
 * Fixed player’s velocity going up slopes too fast.
 * Fixed player error calculating collisions with various meshes.
 * Fixed an issue with sharks spawning at wrong positions and being destroyed.

Changes

 * Changed culling distances for various layers – particles, objects, animals, etc.
 * Adjusted Palm Tree’s level of detail.
 * Adjusted Rock’s level of detail.
 * Changed Stick model to suit new wood tier.
 * Removed the requirement to craft panels before crafting walls.
 * Improved Wall placement.
 * Improved underwater visibility and coloring.
 * Added Whales back into generation.
 * Added Palm tree climbing again.
 * Reduced the player collider radius to avoid getting stuck in tight places.

New Content

 * Added Wood Steps building part!
 * Added “Translucency” option to graphics menu to toggle cloth and foliage translucency.
 * Added Speedtree and billboard support to Ficus trees
 * Added Tree harvesting particles
 * Added leaf particles to trees.
 * Map Editor: Added Dash fast camera movement hotkey.
 * Added Building Collisions and Structure Boundaries!
 * When you place a foundation that will start a new ‘structure’. Any other building pieces that you add onto that foundation (more foundations, panels, multiple storeys, etc) will become a part of that structure. You can’t place a structure too close to another structure. You will find that you need a small distance between foundations, unless you're snapping a foundation to an existing foundation.

Dev Notes

 * The ocean has some issues running under OpenGL (Mac users!) For now there is no shore fading or refraction masking, but the ocean appearing as a "blue blob" has been fixed.