Hey Citizens,
we have just released Maintenance Update 11.1.12 with the following changes:

• Fixed: A server crash that could happen when a secession election ended successfully.
  
• Fixed: A citizen of a higher-tier settlement that placed the foundation of a lower-tier settlement would lose the citizenship of the newly placed draft settlement when moving their homestead, also losing the draft Mayor title - this led to the settlement becoming unconfigurable. Instead, the player can now keep the citizenship of the draft settlement as long as the homestead was moved within its theoretical influence.

• Fixed: Authorized users on a table could change the repair bounty settings, allowing them to set the price the owner pays for a repair bounty and fulfill it for that price.
  
• Fixed: An exploit that allowed to retain an outdoor room despite industrial objects being present by placing the outdoor objects on top of the industrial objects.
  
• Fixed: Authorized citizens were unable to consume items stored inside a storage object.

• Fixed: The crafting UI didn't display set crafting fees to the player.
  
• Fixed: Item tooltips didn't display the names of stores buying or selling the item.
  
• Fixed: The reputation tooltip did no longer display its contents when a reputation message exceeding 80 characters was present.

• Fixed: Server achievements didn't persist through server restarts anymore.
  
• Fixed: Marketplace purchases could fail on servers with specific currency denominators.
  
• Improved: Introduced simple culling for lights, improving FPS in crowded towns.

• Changed: Rebalanced defaults for "WeightCultureByPercentOfNeighboringPlotsChildSettlement" and "WeightCultureByPercentOfNeighboringPlotsSiblingSettlement" in Settlements.eco to make annexation of properties at borders much harder. Administrators that want to apply these changes need to update their Settlements.eco file.

WorldGenerator.template.eco

• Added: "MaxGenerationHeight" config variable, determining the maximum height terrain will have after world generation - defaults to 120.
  
• Added: "MaxBuildHeight" config variable, determining up to which height players can place blocks. Changes take effect even after world generation, but this variable cannot be reduced below a value once it has been set. The value underlies limits depending on the world size and must be set with care - defaults to 160.
  
• Removed: "WorldHeight" config variable, as it has been split into the above.

Hello Eco Citizens!

The journey towards Eco 1.0 continues, and the team is incredibly excited about the progress we're making. We know you're all eager to hear what's cooking, so we wanted to share a few key features and improvements we've been working on recently.

For a long time, we (and many of you!) have felt the constraints of the rigid placement grid. Remember trying to make a room feel just right, only to be forced into unnatural alignment against a wall? We're thrilled to announce the upcoming ability to place most objects freely, independent of the world grid. This opens up enormous possibilities for interior design, workshop organization, and general world decoration.

We're finally enabling placement on top of other surfaces, like tables. Imagine setting a table with tools, decorative items, or even food.

You'll also gain significantly more control over object rotation, allowing for truly nuanced and personalized arrangements.

We've already been blown away by the incredible scenes players have crafted even with the old limitations. We genuinely cannot wait to see the astounding creativity you'll unleash with this newfound freedom!

Now that you can place objects directly on surfaces, you can also mark these placed objects for sale. You’ll be able to visually stock a store and have customers interact and purchase directly from the objects themselves. It’ll even automatically display pricetags on placed items that are marked for sale.

Placing food on tables also allows a new gameplay feature, Dinner Parties! Yes, you'll soon be able to lay out a proper feast. This isn't just about aesthetics; it's about fostering community and culture. Host elaborate dinner parties for your neighbours, share a simple meal with a friend, or organize grand diplomatic banquets for citizens across the globe.

While we'll dive into the specifics in a dedicated future post, we can tease that these gatherings are more than just role-playing opportunities. Sharing food and participating in these social events will carry tangible cultural significance within the game, with multipliers when you bring together people from neighboring settlements, adding another layer to Eco's societal simulation. Stay tuned for more details!

We've also embarked on the development of a long-requested feature: Animal Husbandry! Here's a sneak peek at some of the new assets:

This is just the beginning of bringing domesticated animals to Eco, offering new pathways for sustainable food production and resource management. This will be in a later update, after the others mentioned above.

These are just a few highlights of what we've been working on as we push towards Eco 1.0. Our goal is to make the world of Eco richer, more interactive, and provide you, the players, with even more tools to build, collaborate, and shape your environment and society.

We're incredibly grateful for your continued support and passion for Eco. Keep an eye out for more updates, and as always, happy building!

Best, The Strange Loop Games Team