The newest update is live right now and contains a massive overhaul of NPC movement and pathfinding. In all previous versions, NPCs were rigidly constrained to the voxel grid. They could only move in straight lines to the blocks directly next to theirs.
0.14.0 changes that. NPCs are now able to move diagonally! This is true for both colonists and monsters.
Before 0.14.0, NPCs didn’t really care where they walked. Grass or an actual floor, dry land or water - they were equally quick on all terrains, and had zero preferences. This has changed too! All NPCs now strive to avoid water. Colonists prefer walking on proper paths and get a minor speed boost there, while they are slightly slower on blocks like grass and sand.
Monsters can’t open doors anymore - but have learned to destroy them. They have a bit of a dislike for doing that, making colonists behind doors safer in a lot of situations. But block the path towards the banner with a door, and they’ll have no problem smashing them to pieces!
Previously, colonists could walk through beds without a problem - that prevented a lot of pathfinding issues. Beds are not total blockers in 0.14.0, but they do slow down colonist movement quite dramatically. “Bed seas” are not an optimal solution anymore!
Apart from those major changes to pathfinding and movement, there are some smaller changes. The “old” quarterblocks can now be placed with the same system as the newer dynamic quarterblocks, allowing for example vertical placement on walls. Other “dynamic” blocks that adjust their shape based on context, like rails, torches and street lanterns, will now show a green placement preview, like static objects had been doing for a while.
There is a pretty long list of minor fixes and changes. Some destruction particles have been adjusted, some text issues have been improved, a ragdoll bug was patched. For the full list, see the in-game changelog!
If you encounter any issues, or would otherwise like to share your opinion, please let us know! We’re very active on Discord and will certainly monitor the Steam comments on this blog.
Veel plezier met update 0.14.0!
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