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Hello everyone!
The next update is getting pretty close now, with hopefully less than two weeks left until release. With that, it’s time to turn our eye to the meat of the update: the overhauled alien ruins.
Complete visual overhaul
The ruins as we’ve known them were, of course, a remnant of a much earlier stage in development. With their new look, we feel like they now have much more of a visual identity, with a lot of props and decals to set them apart from other environments in the game.
Along with the new visuals, we’ve implemented a generation logic for the ruins much like the one used with outposts. In a nutshell, ruins are procedurally generated by connecting pre-made modules, resulting in larger complexes with layouts that will be more intuitive and fun to explore.
New ruin inhabitants and items
With the alien ruins, the environment is only half the fun, and the denizens have naturally seen their share of changes for this update too.
The Fractal Guardian is not a new creature, but it has undergone an exciting evolution in terms of looks, behavior and armaments – it now patrols the ruins and uses either a harpoon to hook its victim or a steam cannon to burn the trespasser. When damaged, the guardian retreats to a recharging pod.
The Swarm Feeder is a brand new addition. Be on the lookout for these little things as you explore ruins – they move in swarms and like your blood.
The wildlife is of course not the only danger within the ruins. With the update, we’re adding new items to watch out for, most importantly the gravity sphere and the ruin vent, both of which have interesting new effects. These should be of particular interest to modders, as you will be able to use them for new effect triggers and item and creature spawning related to special items in your own mods.
New missions and bot commands
We’re also adding two new missions that send you on ruin expeditions: your task may be either to scan a ruin thoroughly, or to clear one of fractal guardians.
Lastly, when you take your AI crewmates to the new ruins with you, you will be able to tell them to return to the sub to get them out of harm’s way. Bots now also use waypoints to navigate inside ruins, so they should be able to follow you there more reliably after this update.
And that’s not all!
We’re still going to write a bit more about upcoming medical interface changes and the exciting new addition of genetics. Stay tuned!
The post Sneak peek: Alien ruins overhaul appeared first on Barotrauma.
