Iron Gate Studio continues to improve on the world ofValheimwith a new update. The open-world survival game combines cooperative gameplay and exploration with a mythical Viking atmosphere. With a large emphasis on crafting and exploration, Iron Gate is bringing enhancements to the map thanks to a terrain system update inValheim.
Even as an Early Access title,Valheimhas managed to become a top Steam sellersince release. Players have been joining up with friends to take on bosses and build up their settlements. That said, with procedurally generated worlds, some fans may have been subject to some slowdowns. With this new update, Iron Gate is making some big changes under the hood to create a smoother experience.
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The 0.150.3 patch will be subtle from the player’s perspective, but is a major edit from the developers. At its core, the terrain modification system reduces network instances. Essentially, what this should do is make loading times much faster overall. The update will be somewhat noticeable when using hoes orpickaxes inValheimdue to behavior changes. Otherwise, areas with terrain modifications will load more smoothly than before. Fortunately, fans can switch already set terrain modifications by using the console command, optterrain.
While this is the biggest part of the patch, there are some other bits and pieces coming too. Swamp draugr will no longer spawn inside rocks as this update changes the monster type’s spawner location. Also some very minor fixes, like the Lox pet sound effects and Dolmen location stone size. Raising ground with the hoe will be easier too as the rock requirement is lower after this patch. Finally, those hoping for less bandwidth usage can breath a sigh of relief because server lists will not download when leaving the start menu now.
All in all, the 0.150.3 update sounds like a nifty improvement for the game’s world. Since the game is still in Early Access, players can expect many of the tweaks coming from Iron Gate to be on polishing the experience. Faster loading is definitely one that will be welcome in the community, asValheim’smap sizeis fairly large. Plus, the other changes coming with the patch appear to fix some rather buggy aspects throughout.
Keep in mind that this patch is not going to drastically overhaul the game visually or content-wise. Putting the transfer for old terrain modifications behind a console command seems a bit questionable too, as some players may not know how to use that option. It does not look like Iron Gate is continuing onValheim’scontent roadmapwith this update either, so fans will be waiting longer for more to do. Overall, this sounds like a great fix for improving gameplay and should be a nice improvement for those enjoying the world.
Valheimis available on PC via Steam Early Access.
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