Dear Silica Community, As we approach the year's end, we'd like to extend our thanks for your ongoing support and feedback. The latest update for this year has just landed on Steam, bringing various changes and fixes. Additionally, it introduces the long-awaited Silica Dedicated Servers. Take a look at the complete changelog below and explore the detailed information on how these servers operate right under it. As always, your insights on the game's current state are appreciated—feel free to share them through our social channels and Discord. Your feedback continues to be an essential part of our journey. See you on Baltarus! Full changelog:

• Added: Initial daytime selection (random at first) to Strategy game mode
• Added: Storing of host/server settings
• Added: Selection of play mode (HvH, HvA, HvHvA) via vote to Strategy game mode
• Added: Admin (standard and root) support, with command relay to the server
• Added: Ban player support including duration
• Added: Ban, Kick, EndRound, PlayerInfo commands for admins
• Added: AddAdmin, AddRootAdmin, RemoveAdmin, RemoveRootAdmin, etc. commands for admins/host
• Changed: Alien players spawn as Horned Crabs instead of Wasps in Strategy
• Changed: Human players spawn as Scouts initially in Strategy
• Fixed: Dark screen on clients when switching maps in multiplayer
• Fixed: Daytime was not set correctly on match start in Strategy
• Fixed: FPS player tags sometimes did not show the correct name

Dedicated servers quick guide: Support for Dedicated Servers has been released via the 'Silica Dedicated Server' tool on Steam. Notably, an associated application can pair with the server itself and issue commands via the console. The application, named 'SilicaServerCommander.exe,' resides in the same folder as the server application, currently called 'Silica.exe.' However, it is not necessary for functionality; it is solely for issuing instructions to the server without joining it via the game. Server settings are stored in 'Documents/Silica/ServerSettings.xml,' encompassing all server setup-related settings: settings per game mode, the current map, maximum players, bans, and admins. This file is automatically created if absent and updated when settings are changed. Please note that currently, the game also uses this file for hosting, though this might change in the future. Upon starting the server executable, it automatically hosts a game on Steam. Administration of the server can be done directly via the aforementioned application or by assigning specific players as Admins. There are two access levels: Root and Standard. A Standard Admin can perform actions like kicking, banning, ending the round, changing the map, enabling cheats, etc. A Root Admin can additionally assign and remove Standard Admins. However, only the server itself can grant Root Admin privileges, which must be done on the server side (via XML edit or via the console in the application). Commands are issued to the server through the in-game console (opened via the ~ key, below the ESC key) and are relayed if the player is an Admin. These commands can also be sent via the aforementioned application. Console commands:

• playerinfo - Prints the name and Steam ID of all players to the console (useful for getting the ID for kicking/banning)
• kick PLAYER - Kicks a player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• ban PLAYER DAYS REASON - Bans a player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID, DAYS is the duration in days (0 or less for permanent), REASON is a one-word reason, e.g., 'Abusive')
• unban PLAYER - Unbans a player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• addadmin PLAYER - Assigns Standard Admin privileges to the player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• addrootadmin PLAYER - Assigns Root Admin privileges to the player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• removeadmin PLAYER - Removes Standard Admin privileges from the player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• removerootadmin PLAYER - Removes Root Admin privileges from the player (PLAYER is either a case-sensitive name or Steam ID)
• endround - Ends the current round in the current game mode, if applicable
• map MAP GAMEMODE - Loads a new map (MAP is the name of the map, e.g., GreatErg, GAMEMODE is the name of the game mode, e.g., MP_Strategy)
• cheats - Turns cheats on or off for ALL players
• resources TEAM AMOUNT - Adds resources to a team (may be negative to remove), where TEAM is the team name (e.g., Sol), and AMOUNT is the quantity