[2020] August Content Update Notes

Update 0.2.0 is now available to download. Included in the update are the following changes and fixes we've made to the game:

New Features 

• Bird! - Includes new crafting materials and recipes from bird feathers. 
• Perk system with 13 unique perks to discover! 
• New BURG.L Quest types: Artificer (crafting quests) and Chipsleuth (quests asking you to locate BURG.L chips). 
• Added Fence buildings (Sprig and Acorn). 
• Added Table buildings (Grass and Clover). 
• Added Water Flea ambient insect to flooded biome.

Changes / Tuning

Combat

• Buffed damage on the Spider Fang Dagger so it's on the higher end of tier 2 weapons.
• Buffed damage on Spike Traps significantly.
• Spiders learned a new set of attacks to choose from instead of just their basic bite.
• Added a brief forced delay between block start events, preventing the player from perfect-blocking by mashing the block button.
• Slightly reduced the bonus damage given by the Eyepatch.
• Adjusting larva blade poison proc so it's consistent.
• Reducing the stun ratings of two-handed weapons.
• Slightly reducing amount of damage the mint mallet deals so it's in line with tier progression.
• Tier 2 insects now have a cooldown after being stunned before they can be stunned again.
• Perfect Blocking no longer reduces armor durability.

Interface

• Updated Raw Science UI icons to be more consistent across the game.
• Adding shortcut for dropping items in the inventory screen (Drop Stack is in the context menu).
• Adding "Deposit/Receive Stack" button on storage UIs.
• Shift+clicking item stacks in the storage UIs will transfer the full stack clicked.
• Dragging an item stack onto the paper doll in the inventory screen will drop the item stack in the world.
• Crafting an item with a full inventory will now notify that the item was dropped in the world.
• Storage and Flag marker icons have been revised, regrouped, and their colors have shifted (Requires a one-time tour of the yard to set everything back / new trail markers will be blank by default).
• Slight revisions to a few SCA.B flavor schemes.
• Canteen slurps available are displayed in the equipped item HUD element
• Additional icon art
• Added a highlight effect that appears on interactable objects when the player looks at them. This feature is controlled by the "Highlight Objects" Accessibility setting.

World

• Revised clover cave layout and lighting, and moved entrance slightly.
• Revised flooded area layout in southeast corner of yard.
• Updated house electrical socket with final, non-blockout art
• Items left in the world (not in a container, etc.) for 48-72 in-game hours will eventually despawn once out of range of all players. Items loaded from a saved game from version 0.1.x, will have all item timers start at zero to give players a chance to react to this change.
• Players and critters now create ripples in the water while moving.
• Kids are starting to throw Archer Cookies over the fence, along with their Billy Hogs and Apples.
• Added a few footprints throughout the yard.

Buildings

• Base buildings will now be more reliably anchored when built on top of objects such as the Baseball
• Palisades will no longer immediately collapse when an attached building is removed.
• Water Containers can collect falling droplets.
• The player can now drink from Water Containers while holding weapons.
• Stairs may now be embedded in the ground like scaffolds and ramps.
• Walls that are sandwiched above by two floors will have their crenellations suppressed.
• The camera will slide to the correct position when interacting with a Weapon Wall Mount.
• Tweaked the placed position of the Weapon Wall Mount to be more centered.

Performance

• Better Windowed-Fullscreen performance in Windows versions of the game.
• Better UI/Inventory GPU performance.
• Significant load game time improvement for games with large bases.
• Better GPU performance during nighttime.

Other

• The Voice Chat Activation setting is now properly reapplied when entering a game. 
• SCA.B flavor scheme collectibles now have a pulsing light and are slightly bigger to make them more noticeable.
• Hedge Berries now float in water.
• Prevented very large numbers of ants from being assigned the same task, such as killing a weevil.
• Reduced the camera near clip plane fixing the camera clipping into the player when using high a high field of view.
• Polished up spear movement and aiming animations for 1st person.
• You should now see grass extend to the furthest reaches of the yard.
• Ants now find and store lost Ice Caps.
• Soldier ants can now properly drop ant heads as loot.
• Tall woody weeds are now displayed as "Husky Weed." Dandelions and husky weed both still supply weed stems. Husky weed now respawns.
• Ants will not be happy if you take their eggs.
• The Resource Analyzer now animates when analyzing.
• A couple of new smoothies can be whipped up at the smoothie station.

Bug Fixes - All Platforms

Top Community Issues

• Incapacitated players are now saved instead of ignored when a save game is made or they exit the game. With this, players that reload an incapacitated character will have their backpack spawned where they died instead of them just spawning without their inventory in the world. NOT RETROACTIVE
• Items and insects will spawn under the world less. Cleaning up items/insects that have fallen through the level upon load. (This should help with insect population/egg spawning)
• Insects should no longer spawn inside of the large Pond rocks. Any insect currently in the rocks upon load should be snapped out. (This should help with insect population/egg spawning)
• Grass planks will no longer fall through the ground.
• Fixed Hedge Berries appearing in incorrect positions for clients, making them very difficult to harvest.
• Fixed torch sound effects.
• Insects should no longer "walk through walls" when not looking at them or when they are at your far away base.
• Fixed giant arrows sometimes spawning when shot into a large insect.

Major

• Multiplayer clients will no longer crash when despawning droplets containing items.

Game

• Optimized building collapsing so the game will no longer lock up when collapsing huge structures.
• The game will no longer crash when collapsing very long structures.
• Fixed issues where walls could get built in-between a wall snap spot messing up your wall grid
• Gnats will now need a little more delta-V than a Bounce Web can provide if they want to go to space.
• Fixed a problem where insects would not become appropriately hungry and sleepy after the players slept.

Items/Equipment/Resources

• Standalone buildings that are attached to walls and floors will collapse as well if the floor or wall they are on collapses.
• Large Rake Rock now has proper collision.
• Soda pop can now be dumped from a canteen.
• Fixed water droplets near sprinkler and oak tree that respawned immediately when you approached.
• Fixed gas arrows not being one-time use.
• Rotten Bee Armor can no longer be repaired for free.
• Workbench light will no longer be disabled after loading a save.

World

• Fixed wall crenellations appearing inconsistently on clients and the host.
• Fixed wall crenellations appearing incorrectly after loading a saved game.
• Fixed fingers moving on weapon hand during one handed movement animations.
• Restructured 3rd person body aiming for unarmed punching.
• Unfinished buildings no longer block the third person camera.
• Swapping armor after having collected Raw Science no longer displays the material of the previously equipped armor.
• Fixed issue with seeing fogless voids in the world after having emerged from a large body of water.
• Puddle drinking animation and camera improved to address clipping issues.

UI

• Fixed SCA.B Bugged scheme not appearing in list correctly.
• The resting UI updates properly upon bedtime.
• SCA.B won't flash thirst and hunger danger if levels are good.
• Defrag button in Inventory can now be navigated using the Gamepad.
• Less explosive results when using the Drop Stack action.
• Fixed Clover Hood and Poncho description being the same as the Leggings.

Bug Fixes - Windows 10 Store Version

• Fixed issues with 4k fullscreen resolution failing to work properly.
• Fixed issues with Alt-Tab crashing the game.

Bug Fixes - Xbox One Version

• Reduced screen edge artifacts / flashing.

Ominent Practical Technologies

• [REDACTED]

Thank you all for the continued reports, suggestion and feedback sharing, and support while we continue to develop Grounded. They are all appreciated as we read everything that comes in to help enhance your time in the backyard.

If you continue to encounter any of these issues after updating the game or stumble across a new issue, please first check our Known Issues List to see if your issue is known. If your issue is not listed, then either email us directly at [email protected] or fill out the Contact form located on our Support Site and include the following information:

1. Platform. (Xbox Console, PC Game Pass, PC Steam).
2. Multiplayer or Single Player Game. (If multiplayer, can you let us know how many players in total in the game, and their platforms if you know this)
3. Description of issue.
4. Last thing you did in the game before the issue occurred, if applicable.

Thank you again, and have fun out in the backyard!