The Golden Update - 1.3 Patch Notes

2024/08/27

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This release is the first time you can play on Steam and Xbox Series X and S! Welcome to all the new Dwarves entering the mountain.

Note: Please ensure you have the correct build number on the main menu before playing. If you do not then you must complete the update before playing.

Epic: 1.3.2.157411 [net.4.4.3.c36f37]

Steam: 1.3.0.157618 [net.4.4.3.c36f37]

PS5: 1.3.1.157841 [net.4.4.3.c36f37]

Xbox X and S: 1.3.1.157145 [net.4.4.3.c36f37]

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For existing players on the Epic Game Store and Playstation 5 below are the additions, updates, changes and fixes from 1.2 to 1.3.

Crossplay For All Platforms

All players regardless of platform can now host crossplay games! 

For Epic and Steam simply give your join code to anyone and they can join. For PS5 and Xbox hosts make sure you have crossplay enabled first. The host game screen will display instructions.

Note: the game session limits still apply. Players on Epic and Steam can host an 8-player game. Players on Xbox and PS5 can host a 4-player game. Due to hardware limitations players who host from the Xbox Series S or the Steam Deck may notice reduced performance when hosting games.

Other crossplay-related changes:

• There is now a network version along with the software version. Players with the same network version are compatible for crossplay. This is listed in the main menu next to the software version.
• PS5 players can now edit the names of waypoints
• PS5 players have the option of displaying other player’s Dwarf names instead of their username
• Added a settings option to make the Join Code hidden by default
• A player management screen has been added to multiplayer games, which now allows host players to kick joined players from the session. Players can also block and report other crossplay players at their discretion.
• There is now a passive profanity filter. All custom text input is still allowed but the filter will use **** to block profanity from being shown to PS5 and Xbox players. Players on PC should not be affected. 

Sandbox 1.0 & Now on PS5

Yes that's right PS5 players, Sandbox has arrived! On all platforms Sandbox now includes the following updates:

• Simplified front-end flow. Sandbox or Campaign is now a choice when creating a world. 
• Removed wizard marks in Sandbox mode
• Removed some Campaign-focused V.O. in Sandbox mode
• Sandbox now has a makeshift axe recipe unlocked at the very beginning.
• Increased the amount of Gold and Ubasam Wood in the world. 
• Adjusted the position of areas with late game forges to allow for better discoverability in the overall game ramp.
• Adjusted Sandbox generation to prevent having to go through very hard areas to get to the First Stair
• Ensured all the recipe fragments for an early chest armor piece are available in the Westgate zone
• Modified area- or landmark-specific location announcements for Sandbox mode
• Added exploration containers with appropriate contents for their given areas or place in the game ramp
• Bats have been reportedly roosting in the Deeps areas in Sandbox mode
• Orc patrols should no longer enter a particular later-game forge where a boss fight takes place.
• Reduced the overall area of orc strongholds in Sandbox mode to ensure their generations stay highly localized and don’t spread out too much
• Added support for certain egresses to be correctly closed just in case they did not connect to any other valid area.

Updated Environments and Biomes

• Ruined biomes in newly generated worlds have been updated to better reflect the desolation of the Balrog’s emergence.
• A hidden, ancient tomb has been added to new campaign and sandbox worlds.
• Updated visuals for the exact spot the Balrog awakened.
• Punched out new egress for many environments that will allow for a wider variety of new world generations.
• Balin’s Tomb has been updated to make it easier to fully clean it up in existing and new worlds.
• More location variety has been added to Elven biomes in Sandbox
• Hidden areas have been added some some Urban biome locations

Gold!

True to the theme of The Golden Update, we have added lots of uses for gold. Plus we’ve improved Treasure Piles.

• You now have the ability to mint Coins from Gold
• We’ve added Gold Ingots as possible drops when finding treasure chests
• We’ve added ability to smelt Gold Ingots
• There is now an XL Treasure Pile, the “Treasure Hoard”
• We’ve added audio when admiring Treasure.
• Treasure piles can now intersect and stack with each other.
• We’ve added Golden variants of the following armor sets: Belegost, Khazad, Erebor, Durin
• We’ve added 8 golden wall sections, a golden door, a golden floor.

More Weapons and Armor

A fresh batch of gear is ready for your armory.

• Need a shield? Like right now cause there is a massive Uruk coming your way? Be inspired by the great Thorin. Grab some wood and craft the Oakenshield, a low durability, cheap shield that is now available in the early game.
• A new Muznakan has been added to the Mines of Moria in Campaign and the Mines biomes. Completing it will award a new shield and helmet. These will only appear for newly created worlds.
• Five new incredible weapons now unlock at a late game forge in Sandbox. They will become available for beating the campaign in a future patch. A new Elven weapon is available at an early game forge in Sandbox worlds.
• Three new collections of armor have been added to Sandbox, including the much asked for Nogrod set. They are unlocked via statue restoration. If you have already repaired all the statues they will unlock via a late game forge repair.
• In addition to the Gold Variants, we have also added White and Black variants of the following armor sets: Belegost, Khazad, Erebor, Durin. Craft one of each part of the set to unlock the three variants.

Shadow Prevention

We’ve updated the mysterious shadow vents and the ways the Dwarves handle them.

• After repairing and activating a Durin’s Lamp, the anti-shadow effect will now persist beyond the current game session. No more re-singing!
• Repairing a shadow vent will now reward you with a mysterious crystal, Mahal’s Gift. These are now key in crafting Durin’s Lamps and other anti-shadow boosts. Note: there is a known issue where the crystals appear in the center of the vent rather than dropping after closing the vent. This will be corrected in a future patch.
• Durin’s Lamps will be available to build much earlier in the game’s progression. To enable this Sunstone will now appear earlier in the game, including as rewards in Orctowns.

New ways to Scavenge and Buff stats

You’ll notice updates that better reward exploration and give players more control over their stats in tight situations.

• Abakhs. Translated as ‘stone that changes you,’ Dwarves can find or craft these consumables that give a short duration buff to various stats or cure conditions like poison or the shadow curse.
• Scavenging. While exploring ruined buildings, the most valuable loot will now be in more noticeable containers.
• Treasure chests can now be found in the world.

Build-lore

These additions will help reward builder-type players and give more to find while exploring.

• Build-lore Bookshelf and Build-lore Scrollshelf can now be built.
• Collect Build-lore tomes and scrolls, then add them to the shelves.
• Study the shelves to get a buff that can award free building. 
• Note: previously released bookshelves and scroll shelves remain, however they are decorative only.

Improved Cooking

Meals have been updated to give players stronger reasons to choose which meal they want to make and hunt down their ingredients.

• Most meals have moved from the Hearth to the Stove and Roasting Pit.
• Only very simple meals remain to be cooked from the Hearth.
• The Roasting Pit now unlocks much earlier in the game’s progression.
• Each meal can be made and eaten at any time, and each still refills health and hunger. 
• All meals are now labeled as Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Eating them at the appropriate time will be the only way to get the meal’s buff.
• Meal buffs such as Well-fed have been replaced with buffs that regenerate energy, regenerate health and boost hammer restoration.
• Dwarves can now cook a Mushroom Scramble and Roasted Cranberries.
• Some conditions for granting new recipes have been updated to better align the recipe with when it can be made.

Various Gameplay and Tuning Changes

• Added Tavern Signs to the buildable furnishings
• Updated UI to better explain that the mini-map is not available while exploring one of the Darkest Deeps.
• Visual storage such as the weapon rack and armor stand now unlock earlier in campaign progression.
• White diamonds can now be found in treasure chests.
• The campfire and small hearth have been added to the campaign.
• Increased stone drop rate out of dirt plugs
• "Hold to sprint" is now defaulted to off on new installs
• Fixed some instances of semi-precious gems having no use
• All three backpacks now look different from each other
• Added a better moment when crafting two very important equippables in the end game of the campaign
• The build menu now remembers where you were when returning after placing a block
• Renamed the Dwarf Remains to Fallen Dwarf
• In order to fix joining players who are unable to see waypoints made by the host, there is now a max of 200 waypoints. If you are over this limit you must delete some in order to add new ones!
• Added the beacon visual effect to ranger journal pages
• Change the area around a certain Lower Deeps lever to highlight it better
• Partial progress is no longer available when restoring some damaged statues and story objects, to prevent players accidently losing materials
• Enabled Cloud Save for Epic Games Store
• Added prompt to Quick Build menu for Quick Deconstruct
• Greatly improved snapping behavior of several building parts, particularly stairs and balustrades
• Adamant walls now snap on corners instead of center, matching in-world behavior and improving usability
• Small- and medium-sized columns now snap on center, matching in-world behavior and improving usability
• Updated Middle-earth Enterprises Logo in the opening sequence, we think it's quite nice!

Various Singing, Audio and Music Changes

• Players can now rotate the camera to watch their Dwarf sing
• Reduced the number of instances of "who killed Lugrash" and its variations. Really c’mon, who killed him? We may never know.
• Reduced instances of the Veneration Song getting cut short
• Added sound to various fauna missing it
• Added sound when honoring the Memorial Flame and Durin Monuments.
• Extended the length of roaming and hearth music underscore tracks.
• Fixed issue where mantling sound can be heard when the Master Volume is set to 0
• Adjusted the mix of orc and enemy sound
• Fixed an issue when non-lead singers are very quiet on mining songs
• Fixed issue where the volume of roaming music doesn't turn down on Aric's voiceover
• Fixed the second verse of "Ale of Shining Gold" drinking song getting cut short
• Fixed instances of the singing animation stopping midway during the song to Durin's Monument
• Fixed volume issues when the Veneration song has one dwarf significantly louder than the rest
• Added new sound effects for ceiling collapse events.
• Added VO after the mining and tavern songs are complete, and also when interrupted.
• Reduced instances of boss encounter music becoming permanently interrupted when leaving the arena

Various Additional Bug Fixes

• Reduced instances of Aric intersecting with other geometry
• Fixed an issue where Sandbox worlds had a hole in the geometry near Durin’s Tomb
• The brazier fuel widget now scrolls as intended
• Long dwarf names no longer extend past navigation arrows in the Dwarf select screen.
• Long world names can no longer extend past the borders of the delete world prompt. 
• Some story voice overs are no longer played every time the location is visited.
• The drake no longer respawns after killing it and rejoining a session at Upper Armory outpost
• The [redacted]’s position no longer pops during scripted events.
• Reduced instances of enemies jittering for joined players in multiplayer games
• Fixed various crashes
• Fixed various multiplayer mapstone bugs, including when joining players could not use mapstones on large worlds.
• "Expand Old Camp" tutorial goals now re-trigger when a following tutorial is completed before it
• The Stone Hearth no longer transforms into Tiled Hearth after being rebuilt
• Debuffs from the [mid game boss] fight are no longer applied on respawn after dying to his boulder throw attack
• Dwarf can no longer receive damage over time from Debuffs while in the Loading Screen
• [Redacted]’s Scripted Event now resumes after leaving and returning.
• The "Forge a Steel Pickaxe" Goal no longer remains uncompleted if a "Steel Pickaxe" is present in the inventory before discovering the Goal
• The "Gather All Fragments of Durin's Axe" Goal is now completed when interacting with "Pages from the Book of Mazarbul" after picking up all of Durin's Axe Fragment
• The First ~3 seconds of the Opening cinematic are no longer sped up when joining an ongoing online session with a new dwarf
• Reduced instances of interaction with Furnaces causing huge lags in big bases.
• Claiming a bedroll now removes the ‘Build a Bedroll’ task
• Destroying lamps no longer drop Crystal Flares instead of True Quartz crystal
• Muznakan Altars no longer look unresolved after leaving and re-entering the bubble
• Reduced instances of Meals and Meal UI becoming invisible on the Meal Table for Clients who join the game after the meal was cooked
• Basic Arrow pickups are now spawned when destroying arrow-filled decos
• Reduced instances of Statues in Westgate/Elven biomes that stop giving you recipes after awhile,  even if you didn't unlock everything
• Pre-generated Brew Tanks now have the correct names
• Cross Button no longer needs to be pressed twice in the Rune Table Crafting Menu to select a Weapon
• "Press X to skip" prompt no longer incorrectly appears during credits after skipping the ending cinematic (but feel free to watch the whole thing, it’s really epic!)
• Binding to keys with lengthy names no longer causes them to look scrunched/covered up in the Action bar.
• The [redacted]’s health bar no longer persists on HUD after defeating it
• Fixed issue where there were Missing subtitles for the Client if the Server has them turned OFF
• Fixed Multiple typos present in different Lore Entries in the Appendices Menu
• Farm Patch menu no longer spills out of the screen when having more than 9 flora options available
• 'Quick move' no longer prevents moving an item to a chest if it can be stacked but all slots in the chest are occupied.
• 'Search Area' waypoint for fifth During Axe part no longer remains on the map after picking up fragment
• Opening a chest while in item throw mode no longer causes the chest UI to disappear
• Fixed issue where the wrong lore entry is opened after interacting with Doors of Durin
• Items are no longer permanently deleted if a player starts dragging it from a chest and that chest is destroyed
• Removed the name “Gróin” from the pre-generated Dwarf names in character creation as it did not pass the profanity filter.
• Changing to/from Fullscreen Mode no longer distorts the position of UI elements in World Space
• Changing to/from Fullscreen Mode in-game and then crafting an item no longer disables the browsing of Crafting Menus of currently working Crafting Stations
• Improved UI when interacting with Farm patches and you have nothing to plant.
• Replaced the Player Stat 'Shadow Poison' with its correct name: 'Shadow's curse'.
• Fixed misspelling in "Last Alliance Helmet" description
• Reduced instances of new joining players spawning in Westgate, not in Aftermath
• Reduced instances of Mined voxels partially restoring in underground areas.
• Fixed instances of double announcements or no announcements when entering newly discovered areas.
• Reduced instances of the Crystal Descent hoist being broken or strangely not broken for joining players or after a save and load.
• Fixed functionality for switching between tutorial goals
• "Dâ'imûn" is now translated to Japanese
• Achievements now unlocks for all players and not just the one who dealt the final blow
• When recoloring character items, the UI no longer partially obscures the character.
• Reduced instances of Durin's Axe fragments being missing in certain seeds
• Fixed a variety of environment collision and material issues
• Removed incorrect Red and Blue Muznakans.

Known Issues

The following are issues that are present in 1.3 and will be addressed an upcoming patch:

• Some major locations as well as large bases of the game continue to be darker than we’d like. 
• Some enemies continue to move in ways that are distracting to the player experience.
• The item “Mahals Gift” is displayed in-game as a crystal at the center of shadow vents, this will get a more lore-appropriate visual.
• The “Oakenshield” is erroneously more durable than planned and has a bug that conveys a bonus to stamina, impacting its role in the game progression as a low-cost, fill-in shield for the early game.

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