CryoFall - Patch notes v0.12.x

[Lurler]

Largest CryoFall update is finally live now!
With this we feel the game is ready to fully enter public alpha and ready for large number of people to join and try the game!
We will be starting with promotional activities this month, which means there should be more players now.

We are also looking forward to your YouTube videos and specifically let's plays as they allow us to examine just HOW exactly you play and make adjustments to the game based on that knowledge. So, even if you have a tiny channel with a few subscribers it will still be useful to us!

Don't forget to join and follow our social channels:
   - Discord server: https://discord.gg/pRMGjRz
   - Forums: http://forums.atomictorch.com/ (this forum)
   - Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/cryofall/
   - Twitter list: https://twitter.com/Lurlerrr/lists/atomictorch-studio

Now, without further ado, let's see what's new in this version.

=== CryoFall v0.12.0 ===

Major new features:
   - Completely new terrain system (with all new visuals).
   - Complete reworking of the biome system along with new biomes: wasteland, meadows, ruins, etc.
   - New metal armor set (in "medieval" style).
   - Huge number of new technologies and technology groups. A lot of existing technologies have been reworked.
   - New static objects: signs, large chests, etc.
   - Fridges to store perishable food for longer.
   - Commerce system. Now anyone can build their own stores (trading stations) to sell or buy items.
   - Item durability and food freshness system.
   - Inventory sorting (with middle mouse button).

Other new features:
   - New water shader with water distortions, transparency and shore waves.
   - New character status effects.
   - New lighting systems that blends several light sources correctly and realistically.
   - Proper handling of multiple displays.
   - Significant game improvements to performance across the board.
   - Local chat messages. Now they will be displayed over your character head as speech bubbles. You can start your messages with "!" to use it. Such as "!Local message, yeah"
   - New sounds and sound events.
   - New map icons and improved icon scaling for larger maps.
   - Added credits to the game
   - Capture screenshot feature (F12 by default).
   - New game options.
   - Multitude of other small additions.
   - Added help notifications to explain new players that they can learn new technologies in technology menu.

Changes:
   - Most of the components are made craftable, although the primary way to obtain them is still looting from ruins.
   - All vegetation in the game have been passed through color-correction to adjust it to the new terrain system. We will still be revisiting it later, though.
   - Complete rebalancing of gold and currency. Gold now has wider use, but it is also not as rare as before.
   - Bushes and other gatherables are now more common on meadows and slightly less common in the forest. It makes foraging a bit more interesting and less random.
   - Now all technology groups have their own icons. Individual tech nodes are still using generic graphic, though, as we want to continue working on them for the time being before commiting to their final form.
   - New players are spawned with a torch to make it easier if they join the server at night.
   - Increased light radius for all light sources to make them more useful.
   - Significant improvements to UI: better tooltips, improved menus, better scaling, value interpolation for progress bars, etc.
   - Changed how drying cabinet works. Now it is possible to manually select the recipe.
   - Improvements to map editor (not available publicly yet ).
   - Mobs will now regenerate their HP.
   - Complete rebalancing of the LP systems and skill experience progression.
   - Improved spawning algorithm (now distribution takes object density into account).
   - VSync now uses native display refresh rate (especially useful if your display uses refresh rate higher than 60hz).
   - Other changes and balance improvements.

Fixes:
   - Fixed fists/weapons draw order.
   - Fixed all memory leaks.
   - Fixed interaction system to use universal interaction range.
   - Multitude of other fixes across the board.

Important:
   - The world has been wiped. Enjoy a fresh start!