Update Hotfix 0.03.H2

Update Hotfix 0.03.H2 is an update for Stranded Deep released on April 30, 2015.

 There’s been some changes to the way the save system works so please read the important notes on backing up your existing save file and setting it up for this build at the end of this post..

Now, this month’s update is a small one. It’s probably the least content we’ve released in an update so far …and there’s a reason for it. We had to make a big call for this update. We were working on some big systems this month and last week we realised we weren’t going to get them done for this update. So we’ve had to pull a lot of content from this update. This highlighted a bigger problem that’s become more and more evident as the game’s development has progressed under Early Access - working to a monthly build has been very prohibiting. Our monthly builds need to be stable enough so that you’re not losing you’re progress every update. It’s just not fun playing a game in pieces. But at the same time we need to move forward and the things we want to move forward with are going to break the game ...a lot. What to do? Well starting as of this update, version 0.03 will remain the stable build and in the next few weeks we’ll be starting a new experimental branch that players can opt into. The experimental build will be just that, highly experimental. It will allow us a lot more freedom in development and will allow you to see more immediate progress of the things we’re working on. Because you won’t be seeing that progress reflected in the stable build which most players will be playing, we’ll be going back to fortnightly blog updates on our website how we used to, to keep you up to date with what we’re working on. And of course we’ll be uploading the experimental builds if you want to check it out.

We have a lot of big things planned. Some of them include:


 * Moving over to Unity 5.
 * Reworking the terrain system.
 * Reworking the ocean - Better and bigger wave animations and more complete buoyancy.
 * Reworking a lot of behind the scenes for co-operative game play.
 * Incorporating a proper player model with shadows and animations.
 * Creating an actual audio system.
 * A new loot system incorporating proper scavenging mechanics.
 * Improving the construction system to build on the new scavenging system to create more unique structures.
 * A tool crafting system – scavenging different handles, bindings and blades to create unique tools and weapons.
 * Improving the weather with procedural cloud cover and better weather events.
 * A map editor and modding tools.
 * Heaps more…

We’ll be posting a blog post in the next few days with more details and concept art on what we have planned for the above so stay posted.

The main point of all this is that we don’t want Stranded Deep to turn into an early access game where you come back in a few months and updates time and it basically looks like the exact same game - a game where “progress” is made every month, but nothing really changes or grows into something better. It’s been a hard call to make this month, but we know it’s the right one. We have big plans and are pretty excited so we hope you’ll understand and support us as we do that :)

Bug Fixes

 * Raft Motor – Now requires a hammer to be built.
 * Fire Spit – Now updates display name when attached cookable is cooked.
 * Shipwrecks – Fixed visual error with glass shader not blending with fog.
 * Crafting – Fixed “lashing” material name incorrectly appearing as “rope” in crafting option’s material list.
 * Building – Fixed a bug where foundations would default to a raft when snapping to an existing foundation over water.
 * HUD Information Option – Fixed a bug where toggling the display of item names was not applying in game.
 * Input Options – Fixed a rather annoying bug for players where mouse buttons were reassigning as the mouse axis.
 * Goggles, Flippers and Torch – Added a notification for now to notify player that these items have been equipped.
 * Flying – The last known dragging-flying exploit, aka the “broomstick” method, has been fixed.
 * Water Bottles – Fixed a bug with all food items not saving data. This would result in water bottles refilling when loaded back, etc.
 * Rafts – Adjusted ladder colliders for wooden rafts for easier climbing.
 * Crabs – Fixed immortal crabs when cooking alive. Crabs now die if you cook them alive by dragging onto a fire, etc.
 * Rain – Fixed weather effects not having appropriate filter when underwater.

New Content

 * Saving – It’s now possible to have multiple save game files. Your save file is now saved local to the game’s installation in a folder named after your Steam ID. It may look like a random series of numbers but it actually corresponds to your unique user ID on Steam. It’s worth mentioning that there are a few ways to identify your Steam ID if you need to. A quick google search will help here.
 * Saving – Internal optimisations to save file parser.
 * World Seed – You can now share your world seed. You will be prompted to input a world seed when you select “New Game” on the main menu. You can view your world seed on the bottom right corner of the pause menu.
 * Player – More randomized and more variety of player sound effects. Improved jumping sounds and more variety. Improved landing sounds and more variety. Vomitting sounds effects. Improved breathing sounds effects
 * Label Maker – New item! A small side item that introduces a new mechanic to rename items if that’s your thing.

Balancing

 * Sharks – Dynamically adjusted circling radius based on the damage dealt to the shark.
 * Sharks – Less crazy raft bumping!
 * Sharks – Temporary fix to spamming damage by holding down the use item key.
 * Sharks – Will lose interest in players when on land.
 * Sharks – Increased maximum damage: Tiger Sharks from 1000 to 2250, Great whites from 2000 to 3350.
 * Sharks – Regain 0.5 health per second after 320 seconds have passed since last receiving damage.
 * Balance - Adjusted compass model holding view.
 * Balance – Decreased various fish spawn chances. Sharks are now much rarer.
 * Tiger shark from 100% to 30%,
 * Great White from 100% to 18%,
 * Reef Sharks from 100% to 25%,
 * Marlin from 100% to 25%,
 * Whales from 20% to 6%,
 * Stingrays from 100% to 65%,
 * Turtles from 100% to 55%.
 * Balance – Loot container item spawn chance. Container slots now have a slight chance for spawning nothing (average 90% to spawn).