Optional Beta 0.22034* - New Freeplay Menu, New Features, Fixes & Optimisations

MikeSlugDisco

Community Manager
Staff member
Community Manager
The latest changes to the optional beta have been released. This one includes an extensive overhaul of the freeplay setup menu as well as some extra features in freeplay, like randomised caverns below ground.

This will currently only affect you if you're participating in the optional beta. If you’re not participating in the beta and would like to, please see the details in this link. Note that the beta is only available to Windows Steam owners.

Headline Features

  • Freeplay setup menu overhaul
    • This new menu allows faster setups of freeplay games with more focus given to other colonies and victory conditions
    • All options are still available and have been grouped into tabs
    • Games can be set up quickly through the game type dropdown which applies presets to options
  • Randomised underground caverns in freeplay
    • When enabled, underground caverns are generated randomly on game start which hold basic resources and enemies. Resources and dangers can be altered in the game setup
  • Domination and Hunter victory conditions in freeplay are now team based and are a race to beat the other colonies

Changes
  • Work has been done on making marker behaviour more predictable (so if you move a marker to your queen or remove it all together it should now have similar effects)
    • We are aware of some bugs with the marker changes such as the ants getting stuck at markers that have been removed. We are working to resolve these as fast as possible
  • Dropdown boxes in freeplay setup now display tooltips for each individual option when hovered if required
  • Freeplay now has an option to disable colonies entering one another (this turns on by default if playing Domination or Hunter game modes)
  • Reduced mortar arc height
  • Can now select which ubers you wish to spawn in freeplay
  • Easy AI colonies will no longer be more likely to attack the weakest player
  • AI colonies should be more likely the gather nearby food than far away
  • Freeplay will not allow the game to launch with Conquest as the victory condition if there are no enemy colonies
  • Tug of War extra level now allows fighting within the tunnel exit so colonies can no longer sneak past one another

Fixes
  • Fixed an issue preventing allied colonies defending one another
  • Fixed an issue where allied colonies would defend one another even after queen death
  • Fixed an issue where allied colonies would see their own presence in an allied nest as an enemy presence
  • Fixed an issue where the wrong music would play when playing more after 2_1
  • Possible fix for rapid fire wood ants strange behaviour when shooting and getting stuck

Performance
  • Optimisations for creature movement
  • Changes to how certain checks are done on the behaviour tree to improve performance
  • Performance improvements on funnel web landmark
  • Improved honeydew resource performance
  • When an egg hatches, the open egg and particle effect will only occur if the player is viewing that tile grid at the time (as does the hatch sound)


*EDIT: The below crash fixes bring the version number from 0.22033 to 0.22034:
  • Fixed a crash that could occur at multiple places when a creature without AI (such as a queen or a harvestman leg) would reset its behaviour (such as when it is stunned)
  • Fixed an issue that could occur in freeplay setup when the player does not have a formicarium colony. This would cause the game not to register any colonies being set ,including the players, and would crash when the game started
  • Some fixes for marker issues introduced in the last patch - keep an eye out for any further issues with markers as there may still be some lingering ones
 
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MedinB

Colony
Great work!

Edit: CRASHED already
 

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JohnSlugDisco

Administrator
Staff member
Developer of EotU
Great work!

Edit: CRASHED already
Right had a look at this, it was to do with one of the optimisations made. I assume it was too hard to tell what might have caused this on your end? It seems to occur in situations where a creature has no AI (such as a queen or a harvestman's leg)
 

MedinB

Colony
Right had a look at this, it was to do with one of the optimisations made. I assume it was too hard to tell what might have caused this on your end? It seems to occur in situations where a creature has no AI (such as a queen or a harvestman's leg)
Here, why are the landmarks defaulted to off?
EotuBug.png
It doesn't go with this because I did put landmarks only Infestation and Seed plant when it crashed. But it is weird.
 
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