Illuvium: Overworld 0.4.0 Patch Notes

Greetings Rangers, and welcome to Overworld Private Beta 0.4.0! We're thrilled to unveil our latest patch, packed with exciting features and enhancements to elevate your gaming experience. Let's dive right in!

This private beta comes with a very significant paradigm shift: players will now mint the assets they discover or forge on the Sepolia test environment; this is the last big step before open beta! Please note that these assets will no longer be accessible once the game transitions to Open Beta.

To gain access to this Private Beta, the players are required to register using the following link.

https://sandbox.illuvium.io/beta-4

Blockchain Integration

In the 0.4.0 Patch, the game now exists on the blockchain, on the Sepolia Testnet. With this addition, the players are now required to acquire and use Fuel, and most (but not all) of the game items will be minted onto the Blockchain.

Items that are burned and minted through blockchain allow for testing the ownership of assets. Bear in mind that since we require blockchain validation, sometimes you will have to wait a few seconds before an item can be used after being minted.

Following the integration of blockchain on the Sepolia Testnet, players are now required to utilize Crypton, Hyperion, and Solon for travel, curing shards, or forging items respectively. Presently, these resources are acquired through the Fuel Exchange.

Here are the links for Private Beta 4:

• Main page: https://sandbox.illuvium.io/

• Illuvidex: https://sandbox.illuvidex.illuvium.io/

• Fuel Exchange: https://sandbox.illuvidex.illuvium.io/fuel-exchange

• Arena: https://sandbox.arena.illuvium.io/

Illuvial Hunting

In this update, Illuvials will now roam throughout the Regions, providing players with the opportunity to track them down by charging their instability. To achieve this, players need to utilize the Energy Rifle to shoot them and charge them with energy. Once the bar reaches its maximum capacity, the Illuvial will withdraw into the Illuvial Singularity. Players can choose to travel through into the Encounter battle. If you don’t manage to hunt an Illuvial quickly enough after disturbing it, it will escape to elsewhere in the Region.

Tutorial

Once you load up the game for the first time, you’ll be required to complete Overworld Tutorial. This will give a quick overview of the core systems of the game. Please note that this is not the final version; it is merely an intermediary step. You’ll experience the full tutorial with Open Beta Mainnet, which immerses you in the lore and all game mechanics.

Gathering Resources and Morphopods

We are altering how players engage with Deposits, Harvestable Plants, and Morphopods. Now, players must use the Energy Rifle’s Charged Shot to collect resources and Morphopods. These are depleted with a single shot, with the exception of Mega Deposits, which still require manual extraction. After shooting the desired container, your Drone will collect the resources.

Morphopod Changes

We're boosting the abilities of our Morphopods to make them more dynamic and provide a modest challenge to Rangers. They now possess the capability to deal damage, hinder the Ranger's movement speed, and interfere with the generation of Kinetic Energy.

Moreover, upon capturing a Morphopod, players will obtain a Dye that can be utilized to forge a Skinned Suit at the Zero-Point Forge. These Skinned Suits offer the same functionalities as their regular counterparts but boast unique visuals.

Recipe Revamp

In response to the evolving economy of the Overworld, we have adjusted Recipe requirements to incorporate Ingots and ensure that the removal of Augments does not render Essences obsolete. It's important to note that these recipes are not set in stone; they will be fine-tuned during Private Beta 4.

Ingots System

In this update, we're streamlining the item forging process at the Zero-Point Forge with the introduction of Ingots. Previously, players were required to use Ores directly for crafting. Now, Ingots can be forged by utilizing the specific ores needed to create them.

Augment Recipes

We are removing the Augment Recipes from the Overworld as part of the recent Arena adjustments. The Essences required for forging an Augment will now be incorporated into other recipes.

Illuvial Capturing

While adjustments to Shards remain under consideration, we have modified the mechanics governing Shard usage during Illuvial capture attempts, causing the shard to shatter if the capture fails. Alongside this alteration, we are removing the ability for Illuvials to escape on capture failure.

Drone Upgrades

We reassigned the Drone Upgrades to different Tiers and improved some of their stats. It's important to note that these Drone Upgrades underwent significant changes during Private Beta 4 and have not reached their final version.

Ranger and Drone Customization

Players can now customize their Ranger and Drone directly from the Character Setup panel, located in Sanctum Mesa near the Leaderboard. This panel allows players to modify their Ranger's body type and gender, as well as swap out their Drone for a different model. In addition, each Drone has a unique ability that can be useful when hunting Illuvials. We're excited to expand upon this system with additional functionalities in future updates, so keep an eye out for further developments!

Shooting System

The Energy Rifle now features two distinct firing modes: Burst and Charged Shot. Each mode boasts unique damage values, heat generation rates, recoil patterns, and gameplay characteristics. The Pulse Ammo used by the Charged Shot serves multiple purposes, including resource extraction from deposits, harvesting plants, capturing Morphopods, and damaging Illuvials during Hunts. In contrast, the Burst mode is exclusively tailored for Illuvial Hunting. The players can switch the firing mode by using the ‘1' and '2’ keybinds, as well as using the scroll wheel.

Ranger Mechanics

We are changing how the Sprint mechanic works by removing the Kinetic Energy consumption and adding a small Kinetic generation while sprinting. Additionally, we are improving the visual of the nethersight mechanic from the Visor to better display the highlighted elements around the map.

We have also increased Energy gain whilst Sliding and the Ranger's max Kinetic Energy.

Furthermore, the players are now able to equip a weapon in the Ranger’s Equipment slot to gain an additional Drone ability.

Chat and Friend List

In this update, we are adding the Chat Functionality, allowing the players to communicate with other players currently in the Region and add others to their Friend List. To use the chat, the player must press the ‘Y' key to open it and then 'Enter’ to activate the chat typing functions.

Heatmap Mechanic

We are adjusting the default view of the Heatmap by adjusting the accuracy value to make it feel more impactful.

Inventory and Forge UI

Over 2000 brand new Icons and full screen images added to the UI system for all Drone Upgrades, Gems, Consumables, Shards, Illuvials, Components, Ingots, Drone Skins, Ranger Skins, Dyes, Equipment, Ores, SuitLines and Weapons.

Region Changes

We are changing the layouts and improving the traversal through them to accommodate the Illuvial Hunting and improve the gameplay feel while exploring the Regions.

Sanctum Mesa

• Added a portal near the Obelisk and Main Hub that allows the player to go through and be instantly teleported to the other location.

• Added the Character Setup panel that can be used to customize the Ranger and Drone.

• Improved performance and visuals for all graphical levels.

Abyssal Basin

• Changed the Lilly Pads behaviour. The player can shoot their edges with the Energy Rifle to move them in the desired direction.

• Removed all deep water that would kill the player in favour of a completely traversable shallow lake.

• Added Bouncing Shrooms. The players can use the Shrooms to jump into the air.

• Improved performance and visuals for all graphical levels.

• Complete lighting re-design for the level for better visual clarity throughout the level.

Brightland Steppes

• Adjusted the Bubble speed to allow the player to travel faster inside them.

• Improved performance and visuals for all graphical levels.

Crimson Waste

• General layout changes.

• Improved performance and visuals for all graphical levels.

• Complete lighting redesign to even out a lot of the lighting issues we encountered in the tunnels.