The Beach Brawl Update is here! Free to all owners of the game, this update brings the fearsome shore crab and sand lizard - two huge creatures for the beach environments. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us test out this update in the last few weeks - you're all legends.
It also includes Causeway, a new custom game map, and Chowder - an extra level based on it. As well as a multitude of fixes and optimisations, this update also brings a completely overhauled user interface and greatly improved controller support for those who like to use a gamepad or handheld device.
Check out the trailer, then see below for the full patch notes.
Headline Features - Beach Brawl Update
Causeway: a new beach-themed custom game map for skirmish & freeplay supporting up to 6 colonies!
Two new critters to inhabit it, plus variations!
European shore crab (Carcinus maenas)
Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)
New extra level based on Causeway - Chowder!
The causeway is home to many crabs, and in particular one very large individual. Build up your forces to take down the huge shore crab before burrowing crabs at night overwhelm your nest!
UI Overhaul
Complete redesign of user interface across the game
All menus reworked & reorganised with a new styling
Reworked campaign mission launcher is now descending rather than ascending,
Icons redesigned with improved resolution
Radial menu added with controllers in mind
Improved visibility and readability should help with handhelds & TVs
Additions & Changes
Added savannah uber creatures:
Uber giant centipede
Uber alligatorback scorpion
Uber rainbow lizard
Uber huntsman spider
Uber sun spider
Updated artwork and / or animations for the following creatures:
American bullfrog
Whip spider
Eastern newt juvenile
Emperor scorpion
Alligatorback scorpion
Spiny devil bush cricket
Checkered beetle
Great blue skimmer (wings)
Dragantula (wings)
Huge creatures can now be enabled or disabled in custom game setup to control what spawns at their landmarks
New creatures added to Battle Arena
Added military-style rank stripes in Battle Arena spawner to show creature size
Added a walk animation to the great blue skimmer (for Battle Arena purposes)
Added team stripes to colony creatures that were missing them
Driver ant workers can now be added to custom colonies
Updated victory & defeat dioramas for colonies with updated artwork
Updated water plane material for a more controllable look
Fixes to leafcuttter minor tile appearance
Overhauled the way dithering works for foliage / terrain visibility dissolve
Tiles marked for excavation now use a pulsing colour
The striped pattern can be restored from the “Other” section of the settings menu
Changes to custom game launching to configure up to 6 colonies on supported maps (only the new Causeway supports this thus far)
Added hotkeys to jump to colonies 5 & 6 (currently relevant only in Causeway)
Termites from landmarks will now spoil on death
Icons for the DLCs added to the main menu
UI now scales to 115% by default on the Steam Deck
Text size increased in several places for readability
Changes to the spline creature system to accommodate new & updated artwork
Added option for gamepad with trackpad to support controllers which have a trackpad attached
Added an option for displaying advanded tile information
Defaults to off
Causes numbers from contributing tiles to be hidden by default
Added an option to unlock the camera from 90 degree rotational increments
If enabled, the camera will be free-rotating and can be returned to default with another bindable button
Team colours for colony creatures can now be toggled on or off from the menu
Find it in Menu > Settings > Other
Fixed large underground creatures destroying tiles at the edge of the play area
Woodworm, woodlouse & earwig nymphs now spawn much less frequently in custom games
Queens in 1.x levels are now immune for the duration of victory sequences
Added a confirmation to make sure you actually want to restart a level
Main menu now has a brief camera animation on load & a button press to begin
Demo level Surrounded now has difficulty options
Larry
Fixes & Optimisations
Significant optimisations to textures & materials across the game
Ensured the newer sapling models appear on freeplay maps & landmarks
Fixed cursor drift when using keyboard to move the camera
Fixed small plant vegetation dissolve
Driver ant soldier ability now mentions movement speed increase
"The Savannah" title now displays correctly on its loading screen
Lignocellulise info will no longer display on storage tile tooltip if using exploding termites
Vacuum in The Real FInal Experiment now uses newer ant models
Fixed termite colonies spawning with closed-off chambers in custom games
Fixed 2.2's Within Reach achievement spamming failure notices
Fixed a particularly stretched texture to the west of 3.1 The Harvest
Fixed termites not leaving their nest in Drive Them Back (custom game version)
Fixed colony termites not despawning if killed by environmental creatures
Fixed Separation of Duties achievement being triggered by enemy colonies
Fixed creatures that are trying to despawn themselves getting stuck in nest exits
Fixed the scientist's hand staying visible after the third gateway mission
Fixed leafcutter plants reverting to older models on load in custom games
Fixed a subtitle being attributed to the wrong character in 5.1
Various spelling & grammar corrections
Numerous other small fixes
