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Beta Build!

October 30, 2015 | Dukus | 56 Comments

I just uploaded the new beta build (This is version 1.0.5 Beta, build 151026) to Steam, and also a patch for those of you that have the stand alone version. I'm going to be providing a bit of detail here for people that want to beta test and modders that want to try out the changes to the mod kit.

So first things first.

Where do I get the beta build?

If you have the game on Steam, go into your game library and right click on Banished. Select properties, and then in the windows that opens, select the BETAs tab. Select the drop down and pick Beta Test for 1.0.5.

If you don't use Steam, you can download the patch here: BanishedPatch_1.0.4_To_1.0.5.151026.Beta.zip. Note that you need to apply the patch to version 1.0.4. Previous versions of the game won't work with this patch. Once downloaded, just unzip the archive into the folder where you have Banished installed. This is usually C:\Program Files\Shining Rock Software\Banished\.

If you're into modding, you can get the beta mod kit here: BanishedKit_1.0.5.151026.Beta.zip.

What's changed in this beta build?

This beta build is mostly to test major engine changes that have been made to support multiple platforms for Banished and future games. It also contains a few bug fixes, and some changes to the mod kit. Note that save games and mods made with 1.0.5 beta will not work in 1.0.4. In fact they'll probably crash the game if you try to move saves or mods over. Old mods and saves should work fine with the new version.

Here's the change list:

  • - UTF8 is now used instead of USC2.
  • - Resource files can be in UTF8, USC2, UTF16, big and little endian. They'll be converted to UTF8 on load.
  • - Memory usage allowance has been increased to 1 gigabyte, which should allow for larger mods.
  • - All materials now use custom shading language SRSL instead of HLSL.
    • - Any mods with custom materials will need to be modified to point to the new shaders and/or use SRSL.
  • - Math library can now be compiled without the need for SIMD instructions.
  • - OpenGL is now supported (but isn't currently being released with the PC version)
  • - Data compilation is now in a separate DLL - CompileWin.dll - this can be swapped out for other platforms (consoles, mac, linux, etc)
  • - Shader compiler is now in it's own DLL. Video DX9/DX11/GL dlls are no longer required for compiling shaders.
  • - Added safety code to check for invalid and dangling pointers - this should make catching hard to find and rare issues easier.
  • - Sped up mod details dialog for massive mods that have 10000's of files included. This should make looking at conflicts and uploading to Steam workshop easier.
  • - Beta Mods and Mods newer than the currently released version can no longer be uploaded to Steam Workshop.
  • - Nvidia and AMD GPUs in laptops should now be auto selected for use, instead of an Intel Integrated card.
  • - Textile limit is now available for modders to use.
    • - Cropfields, Fishing, Forester, Hunters, Orchards, and Pastures now have a configurable resource limit.
    • - Livestock has a resource limit for the by product they make (eggs, wool, milk, etc) Note that if a by product isn't created because of the resource limit, the icon won't appear above the building.
    • - Added textile to the Status Bar, Resource Limit window, and Town Hall UI
    • - Added graphs for textiles to Town Hall UI

What if I find a problem with the Beta Build?

If you find a problem, I'd like to hear about it. You can submit bugs on the forum in the new beta sub forum. Or through the regular Support methods.

One major issue I'd like to know about if it occurs is a new debugging feature to help track down object reference errors. If you get an error that looks like one of the following images, I really want to know about it.


fatalassert
or
fatalerror

It's pretty important that I fix these if they occur, otherwise the game state can become corrupt and make save games possibly invalid after load, causing crashes. If it happens, please include the crash.dmp and your save game. Especially if you can reproduce the problem reliably.

This additional error checking might slow down the game 5-10%, but it will go away for full release builds.

What changes happened in the mod kit?

First, Steam Workshop uploads are disabled in the beta build. Since 1.0.5 mods don't work with version 1.0.4, I won't be allowing uploads until 1.0.5 is updated for everyone.

Second, Textile is now a working resource type and limit.

All resource producing buildings can all specify which resource limit makes them stop producing. This allows a crop field to be limited by the textile limit and stop producing cotton, while a food producing crop field keeps working. It looks like this:

CropFieldDescription cropfield
{
	ResourceLimit _resourceLimit = Textile;
	float _growthPercentOnTend = 0.007;
}

The _resourceLimit variable now exists for Crops, Fishing Huts, Foresters, Hunters, Orchards and Pastures.

For pastures that have an animal that produces a byproduct (like sheep producing wool), you can now specify a resource limit on the animal. For example, the sheep resource looks like this now:

LivestockDescription livestock 
{ 
	ComponentDescription _additionalRawMaterial = "Template\RawMaterialWool.rsc";
	float _additionalCreateInMonths = 3.0;

	// this should probably be Textile, but is being left as food so the base game
	// is unchanged. Modders will definately want to change this...
	ResourceLimit _resourceLimit = Food; // Textile 
}

If your mod uses new materials, there will be some work to update them. Instead of what was previously there, the engine uses a custom shading language. Old materials should still load and work, but to build a new mod you'll have to rework them. There's some details of the new shading language here.

What does the future hold?

My current plan is that while this build is being tested by the community (big thank you!), I'll be working on the Mac and Linux builds pretty much exclusively. With the Mac and Linux builds I'll hopefully also be working on some bug fixes and performance issues.

If this current beta build comes back clean after a few weeks (or after a few fixes), I'll push it out as an official build.

Once the Mac and Linux builds are ready there will be a Beta test for them as well. For modding, the only thing that may change is that you may have to recompile mods to get new audio to work on other platforms - but otherwise existing mods should load on other platforms. I know there's a few requests for a few other changes to the mod kit, and I'll be looking into some of them to determine how easy (or difficult) the more desired ones are.

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56 comments on “Beta Build!”

  1. One step further toward the Linux version, which is good news. Can't wait to test that out. I'm using Fedora, and the Windows version never worked on Fedora for me. Can you believe I have a copy of Windows installed almost exclusively to play Banished?

  2. Hey Dukus, can you tell us (just roughly) how successful Banished has been for you, financially? I'd love to think you've made a killing from your years of hard work.

  3. Thanks Luke! We had to edit our materials a little as you mentioned, but everything in Colonial Charter has now built fine and is working as before. Thanks for textiles it means a lot to us mod hobbyists! Will certainly look for any invalid memory bugs and follow the steps you describe if encountered.

  4. Thank you so much for your continued support of Banished - and I hope what you have learned and implemented helps you greatly for future games.

    Two questions:

    1. Will this fix my save game crash issue? (I've tried every conceivable solution posted in the last few months - started happening once pop exceeded 2K)

    2. Will these changes reduce the lag currently experienced for large pops on large maps?

    Thank you!

  5. Great to see a developer still so involved with his project, but I do hope this doesn't stop you from starting a new project in the future. Really looking forward to see what you'll do next!

  6. Multiplatform support is great! I hope your hardwork will pay off, there are lots of people wanting to play it.

    I'm curious to the new textile limits, maybe I'll help beta testing to see if everything is working as it's supposed to do.

    Thanks again for your incredible work Luke! You're one of the few single developers I know that listens to the community abd tries to think in possibilities instead of limits. You're the best! πŸ˜€

  7. Yeah, I will also buy it, when multiplayer is added.
    Until then, free version from torrents is enough.

    Anyway, thanks for new version.

  8. You can't believe how happy your continuing to work on Mac and Linux versions makes me. Having Banished in my steam library and not having Windows for the past... year and a bit has made me sooo keen to try it finally πŸ™‚

  9. Would be nice if modders could add custom resource tags instead of being limited to those in the default game.

  10. Thank you for following through on linux support! Will selecting the "Beta Test for 1.0.5" also be the method for opting into the linux beta? In other words, if I've opted into that beta test, will Banished automatically appear as available under my "STEAMOS + LINUX" tab in Steam?

  11. Thanks for your hard work on this incredibly enjoyable game. It never gets old. I keep playing and restarting with new mods all the time.

  12. Awesome news, this is one of the few Windows games I bought since I don't know how long because I had faith you'd eventually provide the Linux build.
    It's great to hear we're finally getting there, it's been a long road and you did a really good job, I'm sure.

  13. I can't post a crash dump on the forums because I keep getting this error: InsertIPAddress is 22 characters too long.

  14. Thank you so much Luke for keeping an eye out for the community and listening to us! May your hard work pay off!

    Oh, by the way, I really hope you can adress the slowdown issue that occurs when populations and towns get too big - it kinda severely hinders gameplay, and is probably the only major flaw I can still spot in Banished to this day. People with laptops like me have a hard time sometimes, eheh.

    Anyways, once again, thank you SO MUCH for this wonderful and addictive game!

  15. Thank you! I really look forward to support on other platforms.

    Also, in my ideal world, language translation (German, French, Chinese, etc) will no longer disable achievements in Steam... hint, hint πŸ™‚

    Thanks again for a great game!

  16. Purchased Banished on GoG a while back - never played (Linux only PC).

    Had faith in you to get it working πŸ™‚

  17. I installed the new update today through Steam.
    All my existing games including new games crash at launch.
    Don't know what to do??? πŸ™

  18. Luke, I forgot to mention something else that would make us Banished fans really darn happy! - would you kindly consider, if possible, adding a "street view" panorama? It'd really be the cherry on top of all the playing hours we dedicate to building our towns!

    Keep up the awesome work, can't wait to see what else you have in store for us! πŸ˜‰

  19. Linux tuxgaming 4.2.5-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Oct 27 08:13:28 CET 2015 x86_64 GNU/Linux

    Tux wants to play!

  20. Great news, but what we really need is a performance patch. I have i7, GTX970, 16 GB and the game becomes unplayable above 2k population. CPU usage never exceeds 25% according to task manager.

  21. Thanks for the update... it's wonderful that even after all the time it's been out you're still working to improve it. I look forward to your next game.

  22. This game is a gem - I am very happy that you are continuing to improve the engine and pave the way for perhaps a sequel or a new en-devour. Thank you for all of your hard work I hope that it has been fulfilling for you!

  23. HEY πŸ˜€ great to hear your still going.

    Suggestion (probably heard a hundred times)
    * could you include a warfare element; ie, like the original "Strongholds"?

    Thanks

  24. Great, I *really* want to play this game, but since the Humble Bundles I only buy games with Linux support.

    Looking forward!

  25. ε―ΉδΈθ΅·οΌŒζˆ‘εͺθ―΄δΈ€η‚Ήε„Ώζ±‰θ―­γ€‚δΈε―εŠ©γ€‚

  26. Sorry to say it, but this build is just broken. I checked it some few days ago and it crashed. AI (peasants) seems not working properly thought because they stands idding even when the have work to do. I think better just waiting for a new release.

  27. I agree, and have resorted to opting out of all betas as a result. Now my game is back to normal, besides my biggest issue which is population showing a negative growth despite installing and trying the different population MODs.

    I would however like to know, if I disable/delete all MODs - Then opt back into Beta 105, enable the CC update/fix - re-download all my MODs including CC and Fountain etc, would that work? Because at the moment no matter what I try, 105 does not work at all.

  28. REALLY looking forward to buying this game for my Mac!

    I've been watching people play it (on YouTube) for ages now, and I am desperate to play myself!
    It is very much my sort of game, because I dislike games where there is always a war element, and in games like simcity it gets too urban and the aim always seems to be to destroy the natural world as fast as possible. This is visually beautiful, and I love that the population rely on the natural world to survive and have to replant forests and gather natural herbs and so on, and I enjoy how solving one problem leads to another - it's excellently thought out. Can't wait!
    Is there a time estimate for when the Mac version will be available?

  29. You have until december to finish the Linux build, 'cause I know which game I want to spend my holiday on! I can't wait to buy and play this game! I have actually tried this game. Illegally, because I'm not paying to someone who's not selling to me, but I haven't played since you announced you're working on the linux version. I am eager to get back into the game! Not to mention it will finally be enjoyable without the incompatibility bugs.

  30. I keep an eye on Steam beta games but Banished hadn't jumped out at me. Just seen the HN post. Definitely buying your game once it hits OSX. Massive kudos.

  31. Can't get the 1.0.5 to work either.
    Comparing notes with a friend I was told about a rather mysterious (new?) data1.pkg in the windata folder - I do not see this file in any of the SR packages... can you shed some light on this?

  32. To elaborate on the above -

    1.0.4 (patched with BanishedPatch_Any_To_1.0.4.141103 from SR) *
    data0.pkg = 133.630 Kb
    patch0.pkg = 8.307 Kb
    patch1.pkg = 38.699 Kb
    * Original game purchased from HumbleBundle
    ** This runs Banished perfectly
    -------------------------------------------

    1.0.5 (patched with BanishedPatch_1.0.4_To_1.0.5.151026 from SR)
    data0.pkg = 133.630 Kb
    patch0.pkg = 7.717 Kb
    patch1.pkg = 10 Kb
    * This just crashes with a "Fatal Error"...
    -------------------------------------------

    The above is my situation, and it will not run the latest beta.
    If I compare that to my friend's installation, I see this -

    1.0.5 (patched automatically via Steam)
    data0.pkg = 128.720 Kb
    data1.pkg = 39.258 Kb
    patch0.pkg = 1 Kb
    patch1.pkg = 1 Kb

    The file sizes are very different, but the biggest difference is an additional file (data1.pkg) which is not inside any install or patch package from SR, nor is explained anywhere how to get this file for those who do not use Steam. Please advise! πŸ™‚

  33. Okay, for all non-Steam users who run into this problem -

    you need to apply the new beta against the previous full version of Banished!
    Not the
    BanishedPatch_Any_To_1.0.4.141103,
    but the full installer
    BanishedInstaller_1.0.4_x64.msi

    Just re-download it from GOG or Humble or wherever you bought it and install again... make sure that you have the mysterious
    data1.pkg
    in your WinData folder after the fresh installation (strange enough, we ran fine without it all the time).

    Hope this helps πŸ˜‰

  34. Why there are so many people who steal indie games. I mean comments like "I will buy it once multiplayer get's added, until then I will download torrent". I mean, do you guys even understand that it's the reason why indie developers are dying? They need your money more then any other game developing company. They have turned game developing in their full time job. Their only income is from us supporting their games even before they get released. Without buying the game and supporting the developer, there might never be such features as multiplayer. I am not against piracy since there are so many rip-off games (COD, Sims and so on) that just keep releasing pretty much the same game with ridiculous price tag. - 6 games cost the same as PS4. But piracy against such indie developers just show what type of a person you are. Thumbs up Luke.

  35. dangling pointers? Use std::shared_ptr instead of raw pointers. Its easy to convert your code to use them and they will delete the objects if they go out of scope without any references.

    Otherwise, excellent news. Banished is such a lovely, relaxing little game. (just please fix the bug where starving people go up to the warehouse, look at the food inside, then walk away and die of hunger).

  36. I love this game. Can we please have more steam achievements? Like twice as many would be awesome!

  37. I love this game too. After over 1000 hrs at it, I think my apprenticeship is drawing to a close in order to give way to some serious business with my next build.
    One thing I've learned is not to be too hasty to get your city up and running, and to a stage where you are using every MOD in the book to accommodate your over eagerness to create and maintain this massive city.
    From now on I'm going to take it a lot slower, making sure to not only build a functional city within the confines of the game (And I can't wait for a fully upgraded version of the game)but to use the appropriate MODs to decorate my city into a magnificent paradise.
    It's been a slog, but I am finally at a stage where the game is living up to all my original expectations, even with the few last glitches along the way. I hope the new version isn't going to take too long to launch, and that all Modders are able to adapt to it with ease. ( Wish I was a modder, but I'm too stupid LOL πŸ˜€ )

  38. It would be great if they add Co-op or something like that you can build with you friend like one is at other side of map and builds his own city and other own and do trades and stuff that would be great thou

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