Eco Alpha 5.6 Released
Posted on June 20th, 2017 07:04 PM EST
Eco Alpha 5.6 has been released with new features, new graphics options and improve admin tools.
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Graphics
- Improved graphics options
Additional options for a variety of graphic effects has been added to the escape menu. Here you can disable/enable features to your liking, or disable expensive options to improve your framerate. - Improved shadow rendering quality
Shadow quality for interiors and in caves has been improved. - Improved reflection probes
A realtime reflections option has been added. This has a minor effect on performance, but can greatly increase the look of metallic objects in the world. - Global Illumination
- A new experimental lighting model for global illumination has been added. This is a relatively expensive effect but should run well on most modern video cards. Global Illumination models indirect lighting that bounces off other surfaces. This effect makes caves naturally dark, so bring a torch!
- Optimized wind animation for plants
Gameplay
- Linked Inventories
- How items are stored and managed has been significantly changed. Craft tables no longer have intrinsic storage on them; instead, large objects must be stored in stockpiles or vehicles, and other items can be stored in chests. Crafting tables automatically are ‘linked’ to storage objects nearby, allowing them to both take from and deposit their items.
- Inventory Management Features
Related to the linked inventory changes, we’ve added many new quality of life features such as: Right clicking to add items works in more contexts, such as with work orders and fuel supplies; items can be dragged and dropped from your inventory directly into a project; projects can be reordered on the crafting tab - Stockpiles
- Large items such as dirt, logs, and stone can no longer be stored in chests, but can be stored in a new stockpile object. Stockpiles require a 5x5x5 area of the world. Secondary effects from some block types (such as tailings) will occur, so be mindful of where you are storing your refuse!
- Authorization system
- The authorization system has been improved; allowing easier control over who has access to various things that you own. You can lockout everyone from a private chest, while allowing people access to another, for example.
- Tutorial system
- A tutorial has been added to Eco, helping new players get a feel for the early game. Existing players may not see much of the tutorial, since it attempts to detect what you’ve already done and skips those.
- Pipes
- Some craft tables need pipe outputs in order to spew hazardous materials from. Chimneys work similarly now.
- Improved building / room requirements
- Room requirements are now broken out by line item requirement, and the status is displayed for debugging why a table may not be functioning.
- Excavators!
Modkit
- Support for mod plugins
Modkit now auto-loads managed DLLs from the Mods folder. Modders can implement IModKitPlugin to add their own mods. - Support for client side mods
Tutorials can be expected soon, but it is now possible to build asset bundles for client side mods. PM or ask in the modding discord channel for some basic help if you want to get started on this early.
Government
- Added tools for reviewing user activity
- Automatically creates discussion points from world events
Bug Fixes
- Over 400 bugs fixed since last release!
- List of fixed Issues
Migration Notes
- Due to considerable changes to inventories, if you are migrating from a 5.5.4 save, all items in crafting tables WILL BE LOST. It is highly recommended to start fresh, but otherwise you should have no other problems using an old save.