Build Log #02
Just Enough Danger
The second biweekly report of the MLM beta
The two weeks behind us were a calibration. Enough tools went in that the streets shifted from "die on the way to the hotel" to "make it there if you know what you're doing." Parrying activated. Dumpsters as cover. Phone booths for shelter. Trenches. Lightning storms as a new danger. Crafting got refined with more items to craft, more recipes to learn.
The streets aren't safe. They're survivable.
01What changed on the server side
Grouped by subject.
Combat & Dementals
- New attack system. Dementals now pick 1 of 5 attacks at random (teeth, both arms, both legs). If the chosen body part is broken, that attack is skipped. Which body part gets hit depends on demental type (kid or adult) and posture. A crawling demental cannot reach your head.
- 50% DPS bug fixed. Dementals had been silently attacking at half their intended damage due to a bug. Hit damage is now at intended rate.
- Friendly fire between dementals. A demental chasing a player will now attack another demental if it bumps into one. Extends the earlier rule about new arrivals losing aggro on contact.
- Parrying activated. Hold an item with the Parrying stat in your left hand to parry incoming attacks.
- Parry formula. Attacks roll against a 1000-point baseline. If you hold an item with 500 parry points, the chance to hit you is
1000 / (1000 + 500). Warfork tops out at 1100 base, the current ceiling.
Matches enter the game
- Matches introduced June 1. Matches can now be looted from demental pockets. The first ones were pulled by el_clip in the South East near the park, off two adult-male dementals.
- Matchbox capacity bar fixed the same day so the on-screen count reflects what's actually inside.
- Number of matches reduced three days later. Lightning strikes had hit demental bodies carrying matches, destroying the loot inside. The takeaway: loot fast before lightning thins the supply.
- First match burned in MLM history by s7raus on June 5 at 11:46 UTC. His words: "ladies and gents, i've burned the first match in the game 😎 1000qu gone forewa." Method: matchbox in right hand, click campfire.
Weapons & projectiles
- Pocketshots rolled out to each reincarnation point if there's space. Boys may also carry pocketshots in their backpacks.
- Cobbles and pebbles airdropped to all spawn points on May 30. Pebbles initially couldn't be thrown, fixed in a follow-up.
- Auto-reload mechanic. When you throw or shoot a projectile, the character automatically pulls another of the same type from your immediate containers. To opt out, store projectiles in nested containers.
- Makeshift Scissors crafting. Combine two scrap metal knives (any color) for a chance of crafting Makeshift Scissors.
Crafting & cartridges
- Leather and plastic gathering activated. Shoes and shoulder bags yield leather. Tights, cases, and sneakers yield plastic.
- Empty cartridge from rag plus rag. Improve condition with the corresponding material: Ash for Lye extracting cartridge, Charcoal for the Charcoal activating cartridge.
- Clay flask and Clay half-round crafting enabled. Half-rounds are the main building block for the Dripper.
- Dripper Whiteprint dropped to all players. Everyone got one in a container, probably the Patchwork cap. The Dripper WP is the only Whiteprint available in unlimited quantity. There are no replacements if you lose yours.
- Light Ball rind crafting enabled on June 4. Rinds are crafted from luminophore and resin. To build a Light Ball, equip burning torch in right hand and rind in left hand, then place it. The ball cannot be moved once placed, so choose location wisely. No fuel needed: the ball contains luminophore. It isn't always lit. Charged by other light sources such as lightning, torches, and electrical discharge. Repair with more rinds.
- Torch lighting from fire. Torches can now be lit by holding them near any active fire. A burning torch can light campfires. Rain and wind extinguish them.
Environment & tools
- Dumpsters arrived on June 1 as new world elements. Movable around the map, storing up to 1000 L, available in four colors. A group of players can push dumpsters in formation to block dementals on a street. Launch came with an unintended bug: climbing on a dumpster fully protected the climber. Fixed within hours. The corrected rule: only standing dementals can touch you when you sit on a dumpster.
- Phone booths populated with cardboard folders airdropped into every booth. Cardboard folders can be used to close holes in booth walls. You can also crawl from one booth to an adjacent one if a hole connects them.
- "Look at map" from inside a phone booth now correctly shows the nearest booths around you. Useful for chaining booth-to-booth travel.
- Trenches now trap dementals. They fall into trenches as expected. Trenches still hide players who crouch in them.
- Lightning storms deployed June 4 as a new danger. A strike near you can kill outright or knock you to the ground. Take shelter under a roof to avoid them. Defensive gear helps too: Faraday Casing on clothes reduces the chance of being killed by a lightning, Electroshorter reduces the chance of falling on the ground when a strike lands nearby. As a side effect, lightning strikes vaporize corpses in a small radius. Note: a strike on a demental creates a new corpse pile, so don't expect total cleanup.
02What changed on the client side
Releases
v6.0.3 → v7.0.1- v6.0.3 rolled out around June 1, required for dumpsters and proper parrying stat display.
- v7.0.1 shipped June 5: lightnings, burning torches, and one house rebuilt in place of the demolished one.
Performance
v7.0.1- FPS dramatically increased after v7.0.1, reported by multiple players in feedback.
- Cages still drag FPS. Heavy corpse activity zones around safari cages drop frames significantly.
03What we built
The two weeks were a calibration. Enough tools went in that the streets shifted from "die on the way to the hotel" to "make it there if you know what you're doing." Parrying activated. Dumpsters as cover. Phone booths for shelter. Trenches. Lightning storms as a new danger. Crafting got refined with more items to craft, more recipes to learn.
The first currency loop closed
Matches entered the world on June 1, looted from demental pockets. s7raus burned the first match in MLM history on June 5 at 11:46 UTC to light a campfire, the intended use. 1000 QU of in-game currency consumed as fuel.
Bookends
The treasure hunt opened the period on May 24, three stashes with hiking backpacks. Shinary found the first within 100m of his spawn. The Dripper crafting event closed the period on June 5, with the first three builders winning a reward in the next server update.
The community read on it
By June 4, players had a clear sense of where the difficulty had landed:
"btw, we are at really sweet spot for surviving on the streets now, i like it." s7raus, June 4
Beavis agreed: "Yes its enjoyable atm." qubicmaxi added the caveat: "only if you have patience tho lol."
The streets aren't safe. They're survivable.
04Mechanics now clearly defined
Some things weren't new this period, they were finally explained. Worth knowing:
Parrying. Item with parry stat in left hand. Hit chance against you is 1000 / (1000 + your parry points). Warfork at 1100 base is the current ceiling.
Demental attacks. One of five picked randomly (teeth, both arms, both legs). Body part hit depends on demental type and posture. Crawling dementals cannot reach your head. Break an arm to reduce DPS, break a leg to make a demental fall.
Dumpsters. Only standing dementals can touch you when you sit on a dumpster. Push to block streets. A group can push dumpsters in formation to block all dementals on a road. Storage: 1000 L. Four colors.
Phone booths. Cardboard folder in right hand, click booth to close a hole. Crawl from one booth to an adjacent one through a hole between them.
Auto-reload. When you throw or shoot a projectile, the character pulls another of the same type from your immediate containers automatically. Put projectiles in nested containers to opt out.
Lightning storms. A new environmental danger. A strike near you can kill outright or knock you to the ground. Roof protects. Faraday Casing on clothes reduces death chance. Electroshorter reduces knockdown chance. Side effect: lightning vaporizes corpses in a small radius, though a strike on a demental creates a new pile.
Torches. Light from any fire. A burning torch lights a campfire. Rain and wind extinguish.
Matches. Looted from demental pockets. Matchbox in right hand, click campfire to burn one and start the fire.
Light Balls. Rinds are crafted from luminophore and resin. To build a Light Ball, equip burning torch in right hand and rind in left hand, then place it. Cannot be moved once placed. No fuel needed: contains luminophore. Not always lit. Charged by lightning, torch, discharge. Repair with more rinds.
Dripper crafting.
- Use Pencil and Paper on the Dripper Whiteprint to create a Grayprint (single-use crafting copy).
- Craft from the Grayprint with 1 Rope, 3 Sticks, 6 Clay half-rounds.
- Stand on the exact spot where you want the Dripper, facing the direction you want it to face, when you build.
Holds up to 3 cartridges. Insert cartridge, add water. Useful for water purification and activated charcoal production even in end-game. A Dripper can serve as an obstacle, but breaks easily and yields no recoverable parts when destroyed.
05Community contributions
If your name isn't here and you contributed, post in the forum and we'll catch you in Build Log #03.
06Events
Treasure hunt, May 24. Three stashes with hiking backpacks placed across the map as a one-time event. Shinary found the first within 100m of his spawn.
Demental attack system rebalance, May 26. The five-attack system rolled out an hour after the announcement. Same update fixed the long-standing 50% DPS bug.
Parrying activation, May 27. Combat gained a real defensive layer. Stat display lagged by one client release.
Matches in circulation, June 1. First currency loop closed. el_clip first to loot.
Dumpster rollout, June 1. Launched with a bug that fully protected anyone climbing on a dumpster. Fixed within hours. Promo of Reinforced Dumpster, as the team put it.
Lightning storms launched, June 4. Players got a new environmental threat. Shinary noted the side effect: "its nice to see the world healing again, a lot of corpses gone."
First Match Burned, June 5, 11:46 UTC. s7raus: "ladies and gents, i've burned the first match in the game 😎 1000qu gone forewa."
First Dripper Build event, June 5 evening. CfB requested a test of Dripper crafting. First three players to build one win a reward in the next server update. Event outcome rolls into BL#03.
Wolf Pack Recruit Quest, June 4. Opened in-channel by the Wolf Pack clan. Applicants craft Hand Axe, Ground Boulder, Metal Scrap Knife, and Hardened Stake, then post a screenshot from the Hotel lobby. Two random winners receive Gray Wolf Headdress or Gray Wolf Cape plus 30,000 $WP.
07On the bench
Named but not yet shipped:
- Looting other players. Still not enabled. The team has confirmed looting will come before hotel rooms open, and that imports will need care to avoid losing the contents.
- Hotel rooms. Open once looting is enabled.
- Hotkeys. Confirmed coming.
- More dementals once tools land. With the streets settled, the team is open to adding more dementals once additional defensive elements ship. Tuning continues.
08By the numbers
A quick snapshot of the period:
09Closing
Build Log #03 will cover June 7 through June 20.
The streets are calibrating. Looting and buildings are next.