Eden Universe - Playtest Progress Update!

First of all, I would like to warmly thank the entire community for getting involved in testing Eden Universe. In particular, the community from the Black & White Discord server

https://discord.gg/usDzPkFgEu

, who patiently put up with my posts about my game in the general channel and share their feedback with me, while also actively helping with testing - huge thanks! It is thanks to this active community that I managed to catch many technical issues that I simply overlooked during the production of this rather unusual game, which is a Divine Simulation.

There are really quite a lot of changes, so I recommend preparing yourself a tasty snack, coffee, tea, or another favorite drink, because this news post will be a bit longer.

Those present on Our official Discord https://discord.gg/7RB4AgSH3X

know very well that the Eden Universe Playtest is currently underway. Since version prototype-0.0.8, we have fixed many issues related to gameplay, the interface, saving and loading the game, as well as interactions with the world. In addition, we have added new settings, expanded the minimap, partially introduced Land 2, added new units, and started implementing the first AI God systems.

And in the near future, the time will also come for something many of you are waiting for the most - Avatars.

The list of changes is long, so I will not artificially extend the introduction. Let’s get to the specifics: Richard LaBrooy composed a brand new music track for Eden Universe. Check it out for yourselves!

One of the frames from our game’s intro.

Steam post image Aut. Marta Kopycka ( Yelsuk )

Additions

• Added Land 2.

• Added basic screen resolution settings.

• Added display mode settings.

• Added mouse movement sensitivity settings.

• Added minimap controls, including the ability to hide the minimap preview and click discovered map segments to travel between them.

• Added new units:

• Bondi Warriors [Norse]

• Viking Archers [Norse]

• Tribal Warriors [Indigenous]

• Added the first AI God configuration systems.

• Added new buildings / building content:

• 2 new house variants

• Fertility Statue

• Totem

AI God Systems

• Added AI God configuration files.

• AI Gods can now use miracles.

• AI Gods can now use armies.

• AI Gods can capture NEUTRAL, ENEMY and PLAYER settlements.

• AI Gods can operate based on Data\\CoreAlignment\\Players.txt and TARGET definitions.

• AI Gods can visit neighboring map segments, including player-controlled villages and settlements they are interested in.

• AI Gods can capture villages through the faith system if they are within influence range.

• AI Gods can capture villages by military force when influence range is insufficient.

• AI Gods can hunt units marked as TARGETS.

• AI Gods can patrol nearby map segments.

• AI Gods can respond to military attacks against a city designated as their CAPITAL.

• AI Gods can train their own warriors.

Display, Resolution & Mouse Settings

• Added basic screen resolution settings.

• Added display mode settings.

• Added mouse movement sensitivity settings.

• Added the following resolution settings to the game:

Window 832x512 (x1)

Window 1664x1024 (x2)

Window 2496x1536 (x3)

Window 3328x2048 (x4)

Window 4160x2560 (x5)

Window 4992x3072 (x6)

Window 5824x3584 (x7)

Window 6656x4096 (x8)

Borderless window 832x512 (x1)

Borderless window 1664x1024 (x2)

Borderless window 2496x1536 (x3)

Borderless window 3328x2048 (x4)

Borderless window 4160x2560 (x5)

Borderless window 4992x3072 (x6)

Borderless window 5824x3584 (x7)

Borderless window 6656x4096 (x8)

Stretched fullscreen

Fullscreen 1:1 pixel ratio

Fullscreen fit to edge

Minimap & Interface

• Fixed the minimap on the bonus island LAND 0. Zooming out may still reveal the Homeland, but the player can now return to the playtest world normally.

• Added the ability to disable the minimap preview and its other elements using a small button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

• Added the ability to click the minimap to move to a selected map segment.

• Added a button to return to the Settings menu.

• Fixed the Box Selection system - it now appears only during gameplay.

• Fixed the Offensive Army Wheel "G" - it now appears only during gameplay.

• Fixed the thermometer appearing in places other than gameplay maps.

• Fixed an issue where the day/night cycle sound effect played in the main menu.

• Fixed an issue where the selected miracle icon remained visible in the Options menu.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor remained illuminated in the Main Menu.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor remained illuminated in the Settings Menu.

• Fixed an issue where the cursor remained illuminated in the Credits Menu.

• Fixed the Offensive Groups panel "G" - interface elements behind the panel no longer receive mouse interactions.

Roads, Construction & Building Placement

• Building on roads is no longer possible.

• Roads can no longer be built on tiles occupied by buildings.

• Construction can now be cancelled using the Right Mouse Button.

• Right Mouse Button now cancels road construction when a road type has been selected from the panel.

• Cancelling or completing road construction now properly stops all road placement loop sound effects.

• Roads selected from the panel now work the same way as dragging from existing roads: click, drag and release.

• Fixed an issue where the Left Mouse Button could interact with the environment while group-selecting units.

Workshop & Storehouse Rebuilding

• Destroyed Workshops and Storehouses are now gradually rebuilt by village inhabitants.

• Rebuilding a Workshop or Storehouse now consumes resources.

• Each reconstruction requires 16 units of wood and at least 1 worker.

• The rebuilding process takes 3 in-game hours to complete.

• Reconstruction speed is increased when up to 3 free villagers assist with the work.

• Fixed an issue where demolishing a Workshop or Storehouse could cause the same building type in other villages to disappear.

• Fixed an issue where demolishing Workshops and Storehouses could repeatedly destroy them and endlessly loop the destruction animation.

Villages, Population & Professions

• Fixed profession assignment and role name display when changing jobs, for example Farmer > Fisherman.

• Fixed a population calculation error in villages.

• Fixed an issue that brought dead villagers back to life.

• Reduced the volume and frequency of baby birth sounds.

Objects, Water & Interaction Priority

• Campfires have been fixed. Previously, objects could become stuck inside them.

• Fixed an issue where .obj, .spot and .res objects could not be picked up if they became trapped inside other objects.

• The game now includes a safeguard that gives interaction priority to these object types.

• Fixed fences - they did not physically disappear as objects when thrown into water.

• Fixed sheep and other animals - they did not physically disappear as objects when thrown into water.

• Fixed Avatar poop - it did not physically disappear as an object when thrown into water.

• Fixed an issue that prevented bushes from being transferred between map segments.

• Fixed sheep setting forests on fire.

• Fixed an issue where scaffolding could disappear and block further progression.

Army, Units & Save/Load Fixes

• Fixed the Army menu - it no longer causes the game to lock up.

• Fixed a visual issue with the marching armies icon.

• Fixed an issue where army arrival times could incorrectly multiply after loading a saved game.

• Fixed a language-related issue that occurred when loading saved games in the Polish version of the game.

• Fixed an issue where apostrophe characters [ ' ] were displayed incorrectly in text descriptions, for example: It's.

Avatar

• Added new behaviors for the Avatar.

• These behaviors are temporarily inactive, following the community’s decision to wait for a more complete AI implementation.

Current Direction

Eden Universe is still in active playtest development, but with the current pace of work and your help, I think the official demo may be released in about a month - as long as nothing breaks too badly along the way, which is always possible with a project this complex.

The demo will be a way for you to finally see for yourselves that Eden Universe exists, works, and is moving forward. It is no longer just screenshots or promises, but a real, playable world that is slowly becoming the god simulation I always wanted to create.

Of course, there may still be bugs. Eden Universe is a huge technical challenge, because a god game is not just a giant hand on the screen. Every new feature has to work together with villagers, settlements, miracles, armies, influence, maps, AI, and many smaller systems behind the scenes. That is why your testing and feedback are so important. You often do things I would never think of myself, and thanks to that, we can find problems that would otherwise stay hidden.

Eden Universe is not being made to be a perfect game. It is being made so that, at least for a moment, you can feel that your actions really matter - that the world reacts, villagers are affected by your choices, and you can truly feel like a god.