Developer Update: Boats Edition.

Hello, Survivalists!

I am excited to talk about a developer update that was inspired by community feedback! I've heard a lot of requests from the community about the types of boats they'd like to see. So with that in mind, please enjoy the latest developer update, all about boats!

The Motorboat

Get superior speed and protection in your very own motorboat!

The community requested this beautiful boat! When I heard the suggestion, I jumped right in and began to design what a hand-built motorboat would look like.

You'll need to take a hands-on approach when driving the motorboat. It requires direct control but is currently the fastest vehicle on the water. Great for a quick escape or exploring.

Best for: Fast Speed and Safety.

🔨How To Build:

To build this beauty, you'll need to gather wood, a motor, and metal. If gathering takes too much time, don't fret, you may just happen upon one on the islands. Once your motorboat is built, there's just one final thing you'll need: Fuel. The motorboat will be available in Away From Life Early Access to help you survive the danger of the water.

Thank you for the suggestion, Survivalists!

Rafts

Before you work your way up to the motorboat, you'll likely be working with a good old-fashioned raft. In Away From Life, you can currently find or build two types of rafts: Wood or Inflatable.

Wooden Raft

Steam post image

Let's talk about the wood raft first. You can build this raft not just as a means of transpportation but also as a floating base. Build up your raft as you would on land, and never be away from home.

Best for: Medium speed, not needing to control directly, and base building

Inflatable raft

Steam post image New inflatable raft model (right) & old model (left)

The inflatable radt recently had an update in visuals to better fit the world. Similar to the motorboat, you'll need to take control of the inflatable raft for it to move. This raft is great in a pinch, when you have nothing else and can spare no more resources.

After all, the safest place in the water is to not be in the water at all!

Best for: Slow Speed, Comes in handy when you have nothing else, Doesn't require fuel.

🔨How To Build Rafts:

To build either raft, you'll currently need to gather the same materials as the motorboat. Find wood, a motor, and metal to build. Unlike the motorboat, neither raft needs fuel to drive.

Tips to Stay Safe(ish)

No boat? No problem-ish. It's still most dangerous to swim, but there are still ways to defend yourself underwater. For maximum protection, be sure to have a harpoon on hand to defend yourself.

This is the importance of having a raft or boat on hand. Underwater dangers cannot harm you, so you can focus on other things trying to kill you, like the weather, hunger, and thirst, etc.

So build your favorite boat, raft, or ocean base, and good luck on the sea!

Additional Updates

ADDITIONS

• New Item: Skulls

• Floating buoys

• Buoys have loot containers

• Added debris in some areas of the water

CHANGES

• Changed the crafting time to 0.5 seconds for the player, 1 second for the workbench

• Palm Trees model changed

• Increased amount of leaves obtained from palm trees

• Decreased vitamin consumption

• Improved targeting of bodies when butchering with a knife

• The building hammer model has been changed

• Sails on Rafts updated

• Changed the tooltip widget when hovering over an item

• The chance of getting infected is now lower, but it depends on the difficulty level and your vitamin levels

  • Dev tip: Keep your vitamin levels as high as possible to avoid infection

• The inflatable raft model has been updated

  • Inflatable raft stability improved

  • Added the ability to freely rotate the camera while on the inflatable raft

FIXES

• Fixed a bug where it was impossible to kill some animals and enemies with a one-shot arrow in the head

• A bug with the fishing rod has been fixed, and a float has been added for the fishing rod when holding it in your hand

• Fixed a visual bug where the footstep effect was visible at night

• Fixed a bug where the hotbar could not be scrolled while holding a building hammer

Many of these and additions come directly from the community. As a solo developer, your feedback is important for the future of Away From Life, and I am thrilled to be developing alongside the community. Thank you for suggesting the motoboat and keep an eye out for the next playtest coming soon so you can try it out first hand!

See you on the islands,

• Anton💀🏝️

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