Ahoy Pathfinders!
The new patch is getting really close! We're still doing some final work and checks on the build. We don't have an exact time and date on when it'll be out yet, but here's a quick heads up that it'll likely be out early next week! Keep your eye on this post and our social channels for any updates. :) Now, let's take a closer look at what's coming and the tentative changelog.
Sea Forts & Trading
Earlier this week, one of the major items we discussed was the upcoming Trade System! A lot of you were curious about what the Towers on the island Control Points, now called Sea Forts, would look like! Trade Routes won't be available yet, but you'll be able to at least check out these Sea Forts and battle it out in the upcoming build! Here's an early sneak peek:
*** Please note that the above reflects a work in progress. The Sea Fort tower structures are still undergoing some work and adjustments will be made in subsequent updates.We received a few questions as well about how the actual exchange of goods happens and how trade can be disrupted. When shipments for trade are generated, both parties will only receive the goods and generated gold if both Trading Ships successfully make it to the other Market. On PVP, a Shipment will not start if all Sea Forts on a grid that is a part of the Trade Ship's route have blocked it from usage. Once a shipment starts, it will follow its intended path and pay taxes based on the conditions of its route at inception. Blockading will only stop new shipments or force it into another route if it's not completely blocked. Trade ships can also be attacked directly, and although players will be able to steal resources from the Trade Ship, this functionality is still a work in progress.
We have seen concerns about how these Trade Ships may affect server load. Optimization and server stability are ongoing issues that involve the continual work we are doing to update the back-end code. Improvements are going to be a gradual process. However, we do have a mechanic in place to prevent an overload of Trade Ships. Once generated Trade Ships have reached a certain threshold, any shipments that should have been generated thereafter will be virtual. Virtual shipments do not generate a Trade Ship and cannot be attacked or stopped once it has met the conditions to start.
Ships
We also discussed the upcoming Ships for Gold system. At this time the plan is to have it exist alongside the current Ship system. The next patch will see a few changes to Ships to balance it out with the changes that the Trade system and Ships for Gold system will bring. Maximum level has been increased to 60 for ships and the exp curve has been adjusted accordingly. Schooner, Brigantine, and Galleon will now additionally cost Gold to build, and this amount will increase once the Trade System has been fully implemented. The new Ship Salesman has also settled into the Freeports, so you can pay him a visit although no ships will be available for purchase yet.
Re: Wipes
Many players were also concerned upon hearing about "more wipes." This doesn't necessarily mean that there's going to suddenly be wipes left and right, only that instead of hesitating to wipe or waiting until a new "season," we will perform the wipe if a situation calls for it. However, it does mean that a wipe can happen at any time, but only when necessary. We're going to do our best to minimize the possibility, but the possibility is always there. We'll announce wipes when we're sure, although how much of a heads up we can give is going to depend on the situation.
Understandably, many of you were also anticipating a wipe after hearing this news. This next patch will NOT include a wipe. However, as we continue to implement the Trade System, a wipe will be a necessary part of the process. We do not have a date for this yet, and will make an announcement once we do. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
For our Pathfinders sailing the seas of Private Servers, we will also let Private Server owners know if we recommend to follow suit when we announce a wipe.
In addition to the pieces we are setting in place for the Trade system and Ships for Gold, are a few changes and bug fixes as well. We'd also like to remind everyone that we are indeed working on bug fixes and other issues in tandem with the new content. Some patches may see more content, and other patches may see more tweaks or fixes. While certain patches may focus more in one area than another, it does not mean that we are not working on other things. We are a small team doing our best to balance all sides, and we appreciate all of your support and understanding as we continue to shape ATLAS' gameplay.
See the tentative patch notes below:
Tentative Changelog
New Feature: Sea Forts
Sea Forts are a form of Control Points that give Companies control over trading in an area. This system is foundational for the upcoming Trade System.
- Sea Forts have automated defenses that will respawn over time when neutral
- Players have a limited number of build points (100) to spend on a Sea Fort they own
- Currently only Defense Towers may be built (15 pts each)
- On PVP Servers, they may be captured and controlled!
- To capture them, destroy the defenses and plant a flag inside the central tower
- The flag takes 25 minutes to force an owned Fort return to neutral
- The flag takes 10 minutes to capture on a neutral Fort
- Sea Forts in Freeport Servers may not be captured
- In an upcoming patch, Sea Forts will allow access through a server for Trading
- You will be able to grant or restrict access to Allies or other Companies
- Access to a Sea Fort is required for you to have trade routes that travel through a server!
- Sea Forts may have a Tax Bank built on them
- The Tax Bank can be raided for gold. Neutral points have the Tax Bank as well
- NOTE: Until trading starts, they aren't actually earning any gold, so the Bank is empty
- Tax Banks will allow companies to tax Trade Routes that use their Fort for access
- Neutral Forts will have a high tax rate and allow everyone access to a server
Map
- Added the Ship Salesman's Island to the center of each Freeport Grid
- NOTE: Ships are not yet available for purchase. They will be added in a future update
- Added Sea Fort Islands to the map. 1-4 exist on every server except the center
Ships
- Increased maximum Ship level from 52 to 60
- Adjusted Ship XP curve to increase the amount of XP required for early levels and greatly reduce the amount of XP required for later levels
- Overall, this change reduces the total amount of XP required to reach max level
- Added Gold cost for crafting Ships in a Shipyard
- Schooner: 50 Gold
- Brigantine: 250 Gold
- Galleon: 500 Gold
- NOTE: These costs will increase when the trade system has been fully implemented
Structures
- Defense Towers may be built at the Smithy
- May only be placed at Sea Forts
- Requires Advanced Automation Skill from the Construction Tree
- Added Fuel Slot to Farmhouse and Warehouse
- Dedicated slot holds up to 1,000 units of Fuel
- This slot is separate from the main inventory
- Burns a unit of fuel at the following intervals:
- Oil: 350 seconds
- Coal: 200 seconds
- Wood: 100 seconds
- Thatch: 40 seconds
Weapons
- Changed delay before using newly placed land artillery to 10 minutes
- This affects Cannons, Large Cannons, Catapults, Puckles, Ballistas, Mortars, and Swivel Guns
- Bug Fix: Cannons can no longer be fired underwater
Misc
- Removed XP reward from all bosses including the Abominable Snowman, Kraken, Hydra, Drake, Ghost Ship, and Blackwood's Queen Cobra
- Removed Gold drops from Kraken, Squids, Army of the Damned Soldiers, fishing, and digging. The trade system will become the way to earn gold
- Bug Fix: Driving a Cargo Cart over a Pillar will no longer cause the rider to dismount
- Bug Fix: If a Ceiling Tile is placed on top of a Pillar and then destroyed, any object built on the Ceiling Tile will also be destroyed
Final Note
Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.
As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! :)
Happy Sailing,
- ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
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