Release Notes for Nested Lands

Major Update: Village Expansion is Live! 0.7.9.2

Hello, survivors!

The first major update to Nested Lands - Village Expansion - is now live. We’ve added a brand new Harvest mechanic, made the Village area expandable, fixed a ton of bugs, and did requested balance changes. Below is the full list of changes:

Village Growth & Expansion

• Your village construction area will expand when your village level increases.
• The area will also show up on the world map, so you can see your borders at all times.
• Your Guard Patrol will automatically adjust to the new area.
• The area also changed quite a bit: you will see new stone ruins that show your current village size limit. 

New Feature: Harvest Camps

• You will find brand new neutral camps across all Islands.
• In these camps, you will hire people from Worker Camps to collect items for you.
• Each camp can give you different items.
• Items will be auto-delivered to a new building.
• The first camp that you find will trigger a brand new tutorial quest.

New Building: Import Warehouse

• Used to receive loot from the camps;
• Unlocked when you trigger the tutorial for the camps.
• We changed the name of the building to "Collection Plataform" to match the 3D model.

Multiplayer & Client Stability

• Resolved a critical bug where clients were unable to build if they died in the Silent Forest and respawned in the North Plains.
• Fixed an issue where archers were unable to deal damage to client players.
• Fixed inconsistent Point of Interest (POI) discovery between the host and clients when on different islands.
• Fixed "invisible" caged peasants that sometimes appeared in multiplayer;
• Synchronized villager toolboxes and torch states so they appear correctly for everyone;
• Fixed a bug where leveling up the village wouldn't unlock new buildings for client players.

 Combat & Survival

• Fixed a bug where players were not receiving bleed damage;
• Players now correctly become infected while building structures;
• Adjusted the armor values for Leather Armor and Traveler’s Garb to better match their visual appearance;
• Improved arrow speed and physics for more reliable combat.

World & Exploration

• Silent Forest: Moved several Plague Spots to better positions;
• Adjusted the location of Berry and Cotton bushes near the village for easier early-game access;
• Fixed a bug where the Freja map marker would disappear if the player moved too far from the docks;
• Fixed the height of the Town of Vardi church and resolved collision issues in various random event locations.

Player & NPC Refinements

• Newly recruited villagers now receive an initial speed boost to help them reach their tasks faster;
• Fixed a deformation issue on the female laborer model;
• Fixed a "jittering" effect that occurred when the player was crouching;
• I increased the base size for several items (like Torches) to make them easier to pick up;
• Items dropped on the ground now maintain a more natural rotation/orientation;
• Main-hand equipment is now hidden when using the wash hut for better immersion.

Technical Fixes

• Fixed a bug where enemies would continue to run in the background after the player returned to the main menu;
• Resolved a bug where the Bug Report tool would get stuck when interacting with the Village Center;
• Many other under the hood fixes, improving game's stability.

More fixes:

• Fixed crematory navigation setup
• "Added to quickslot" button does not appear on craft tab view
• Fixed height of several trees near village area
• Fixed wrong names for SF harvest camps load
• Fixed being unable to close Gamepad options tab with gamepad
• Fixed Village Center note position
• Fixed harvest camp quest notification appearing every time player gets near a camp

Update 0.7.8.13

Hello!

This update addresses travel issues between islands, improves the experience for gamepad players, and streamlines the requirements for upgrading your village buildings.

Multiplayer & Travel

• Resolved a major bug where players were occasionally launched high into the air when travelling between islands.
• Implemented a new safety system. When your inventory is full and items are dropped on the ground, the game now ensures they land in a valid, reachable position rather than falling through the floor or spawning in inaccessible areas.
• Fixed an issue where Raiders in "The Will of Melwas" quest were dropping incorrect loot.

Gameplay & Progression

• Changed the Carpenter Level 2 requirement from Wood Planks to Stones. This ensures players don't get stuck during the repair quest phase.
• You no longer unequip your items when using the wash tub. Instead, the graphics for your items are simply hidden during the animation to keep things immersive and efficient.
• Adjusted the interaction hitboxes for plant bushes near the game tutorial area, making them much easier to harvest.

UI & Controller Support

• Fixed a an error that occurred when using quickslots with a controller.
• Adjusted the increment speed for custom options when using a gamepad for more precise control.
• Fixed the brightness slider so it displays the correct values.
• Resolved an issue where resetting options wouldn't always return values to their defaults.
• Disabled the unused "Raider Quantity" option to avoid confusion.
• Limited the minimum time settings for "Real Time Minutes" to ensure game balance remains intact.

World & Environment

• Resolved an issue where trees would occasionally load inside of buildings.
• Performed a backend reorganization of the Trader Manager. That makes the Trader system more stable under the hood.

Technical Improvements

• Added a new method to toggle off-hand item visibility, which will lead to smoother transitions during various world interactions.
• Cleaned up unused components from the Village Manager to optimise memory usage.

Update 0.7.8.11

Systems & Stability

We've added extra layers of protection for your progress and fixed some common multiplayer errors.

The automated backup system is now active for Single Player games, ensuring your progress is safe just like in multiplayer;

Fixed an issue where non-host players sometimes wouldn't take damage from arrows;

Resolved a bug where the "Will of Melwas" raid would occasionally fail to start;

Fixed a crash that could occur when picking up items too quickly.

World & Environment

We've performed a visual pass on the environment and fixed some issues in the Silent Forest (Second Island).

Improved terrain tessellation - ground surfaces now have more depth and detail;

Buildings in the Silent Forest now correctly protect you from the Plague Wind;

Adjusted how rocks spawn at the docks so they no longer have a visual pop-up;

Corrected the height of trees and fixed collision issues at the Beach Plague;

Added missing collisions to the Crematorium to prevent walking through walls;

Tweaked the time of day in the menu for a fresh look when you start the game.

Economy & Gameplay Balance

This pass includes a significant storage upgrade and various crafting fixes.

You can now build up to 15 chests in your base (increased from 10);

Improved the usefulness and trade value of items sold by the Trader;

Re-enabled several random events in the North Plains (First Island);

Fixed a bug that prevented the Watchtower from being repaired and balanced several crafting recipes;

You will no longer see a confusing "Unavailable" message when trying to loot certain bodies in multiplayer.

NPC Behavior

Added a respawn cooldown to peasant cages;

Fixed a bug where peasants would restart their crying audio every time you walked away and came back;

Apothecary villagers have had a visual update to better fit their role;

Peasants will now correctly put away their torches when they start working or interacting with you.

Demo

We've updated the demo version of the game to match the current Early Access build. The length of the demo is the same.

UI & Technical Fixes

Fixed a flickering issue that happened when hovering over items in the build menu at certain resolutions;

Improved the collision on Stick Fences;

Adjusted the first plague area to make interactions more consistent;

Updated all localisations with fixes to item names and descriptions.

Update 0.7.8.8

Hello, survivors!

This update introduces a suite of custom game settings and difficulty options, a significant overhaul of the lighting and day/night cycle, and the addition of the Copper Pickaxe. We have also addressed several critical inventory bugs and refined player animations.

1. Customization & Difficulty Options

Custom Difficulty UI: A new interface for adjusting game difficulty and world parameters.

World Settings: Players can now customize the length of both day and night independently.

Character Creation: Added many new custom options during the initial character creation process, including a fix to ensure the male toggle is correctly selected by default.

Field of View (FOV): Added a slider to adjust the camera's Field of View in the settings menu.

2. Visuals, Lighting & Rendering

Lighting & HDRP: Improved brightness and light intensity across all scenes.

Day/Night Cycle: The default 24-hour cycle is now 45 minutes long.

Adjusted the cycle so daylight lasts longer and nights are brighter for better visibility.

Environment: Fixed an issue where rocks near the Coastal Pass would occasionally disappear.

3. New Content & Items

Copper Pickaxe: A new tier of harvesting tool has been added.

Inventory Safety: Fixed a critical bug where items retrieved from crafting stations would disappear if the player's inventory was full.

Players now receive a "Toast" notification when attempting to collect items with a full inventory.

Tooltips: Accessory items now correctly display their localized item type in tooltips.

4. Player Mechanics & Animations

Stats & Energy: Improved the internal logic for how player stats (Health, Energy, etc.) are consumed and recovered. The UI for reading these stats has also been refined for better clarity.

Spear Refinement: Improved Spear animation transitions.

Fixed a technical issue with "Left Hand IK" (Inverse Kinematics) where the hand would snap unnaturally while aiming the spear.

Locomotion: Added a cooldown between footstep sounds to prevent audio overlapping during rapid movement.

5. NPC & Villager Improvements

Villager Logic: Fixed "Empty Status" bugs for villagers resting in the Tavern or eating at tables.

Resolved an issue where villagers would fail to perform specific sub-activities while eating.

Peasant Cages: Adjusted the top collision of peasant cages to prevent players from getting stuck in the air.

Added missing voice-over phrasers (female) for peasants and fixed missing dialogue in "Cage" random events.

Enemy Behavior: Moved enemy idle points at Refugee Camps for better positioning.

6. Audio & Technical Fixes

Audio Sources: Corrected the output and placement of audio sources in the Silent Forest and North Plains.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed an error related to a non-existent "Crossbow" recipe.

Resolved a bug where the Raid video tutorial description was cut off.

Resolved a bug where the Raid didn't start in COOP. If the timer is not there, please wait till 11 am, and the raid will begin.

Fixed the Credits window formatting.

Multiplayer Sync: fixed an issue with the inventory after a crafting process is completed.

We are extremely grateful for your feedback! We are set on polishing the game during the Early Access release to provide you with the smoothest experience possible.

Thank you, and enjoy playing!

Update 0.7.8.9 is live

Dear survivors,

Thanks for your feedback.

This update is driven by player community feedback, focusing on fixing the custom difficulty settings, stabilizing raid transitions in multiplayer, and balancing survival resources. We have also addressed several visual bugs and improved general character systems.

1. Multiplayer & Raids

We have improved the reliability of the Raid system, especially for players joining as clients.

● Raid Stability: Fixed an issue where raids would occasionally fail to start due to specific network environments.

● Save Data Fixes: * Resolved a bug where clients in saved games would not see the raid countdown timer.

○ Raid quest data now correctly resets upon completion to ensure the next event triggers properly.

○ Fixed invalid saved data related to raid quests that could prevent progression.

● Traversal: Fixed a bug where players could become stuck in the environment after teleporting between islands.

2. Gameplay & Balance

● Food & Recipes: * Significant balance pass on food items and existing recipes.

○ Added new recipes to the Campfire and Cookhouse.

○ Updated wording in the UI: changed the prompt "Get" to "Take" for better clarity.

● Systems: * Improved the logic for the sleeping and player statistics systems for better consistency.

● Interaction: Improved the interaction collider for the Wash Tub Basin, making it easier to use.

● Plague Mechanics: Added a "safe check" to prevent plague events from triggering while a player is still loading into an island.

3. Settings & UI

● Custom Difficulty: * Fixed the logic for how custom settings apply data to resolve several player-reported issues.

○ Fixed non-functional buttons on various custom difficulty sliders.

● Field of View (FOV): Resolved an issue where players were unable to click the interaction buttons on the FOV slider.

● UI Stability: * Fixed a game-breaking bug where opening the Bug Report window while a Tutorial popup was active would freeze the UI.

○ Removed the shadow effect from the main player HUD for a cleaner look.

4. Graphics & Visuals

● Lighting: * Adjusted lighting intensity to be less overwhelming during and after noon.

○ Fixed a bug where the game would occasionally start with the wrong time of day.

○ Note: We have reverted a specific set of experimental graphics improvements to ensure better stability across different hardware configurations.

● Assets: * Fixed an issue where certain items would appear with a completely black material.

○ Improved the camera's collision angle to prevent it from clipping through walls or terrain.

○ Updated Plague visual effects (VFX) to match the latest graphical standards.

● Plague Fog: Decreased fog effect to make it better for lighting visuals;

● Foggy Weather: foggy was too strong, fixed now;

5. NPC & World Sync

● Peasant Cages: * Synchronized the opening of interactable cages across multiplayer sessions.

○ Added synchronization for the audio and visuals of peasants crying inside cages.

○ Fixed a technical exception error that occurred on client machines when opening a cage.

● Infected NPCs: Improved the spawn logic and visual effects for infected encounters.

We hope you will like the changes.