I've just finished uploading new beta build 0.980b and demo build 0.980d, which includes a new area called The Great Black Swamp, cannibalism penalties, new items, and quick recipe improvements. Beta users also get a few new encounters, encounter updates, and new ways of getting electricity.

Updates Included in Both the Beta and Demo

Both the beta and demo include the following changes:

Added The Great Black Swamp to the south edge of map.

Added toxic water item to game, with aberrant wound healing cond.

Added code to quick recipes so they prefer junk before useful items.

Added code to reset end turn button after being pressed, and during UI update, to prevent end-turn misfires.

Added code to prevent running when pushing/pulling vehicle, or crippled.

Added code to deposit charges in items if the charge profile has negative rates.

Added new creature. Yukon customers will see a special effect from it.

Added resistance to cold weather to certain creatures, so they don't freeze as easily.

Added code to prefer unidentified ingredients first when using quick recipes.

Added water tester item and art.

Added generic water analyze quick recipe.

Added "no eyes" condition.

Added human meat cooking recipes.

Added new effects from eating human meat.

Fixed code which caused player money to be updated multiple times per turn, causing redundant UI updates.

Fixed a bug that caused encounters to remove wrong item if equipped and layered in a slot.

Fixed a bug that prevented items from discharging on their first turn after switching modes.

Fixed bark tea to count as a liquid in recipes, instead of solid.

Fixed bug that mislabeled encounter items in some cases.

Fixed a bug that caused blindness condition to pile-up and get stuck.

Fixed bug in enfield horror corpse image.

Fixed a null pointer bug on item initialization.

Changed quick recipes to support grouping so there are fewer duplicates. Some quick recipes will now try similar alternatives if first try fails.

Changed certain recipes and items to use more accurate terms (sterilized instead of pure) in prep for toxic water.

Changed some creatures to start wounded/tired and others not.

Changed yes/no encounter response items to match style of combat moves and others.

Changed loot mechanics to be less plentiful during large bonus drops.

Changed corpse spoiling rate to be faster than meat cuts.

Changed crafting to hide identified items until crafting finished.

The Great Black Swamp, and some of the new items in this build.

The biggest change here is The Great Black Swamp, an area along the south of the map that presents an impassable barrier to ground traffic. New hex art, encounter art, toxic water, water tester, headlines, and data files are all added to the game as part of the swamp's impact on the area.

Cannibalism has also been addressed, making it less desirable to subsist on human flesh, and for beta players, less lucrative at the market.

The quick recipe system had a few improvements made, which should hopefully reduce the number of accidental ingredient uses (like burning a rifle to make a campfire). It also now supports grouping, so there should be fewer redundant recipes listed. The game will try alternate, similar recipes behind the scenes if the primary one doesn't work.

The loot frequency has been tweaked a bit, so major piles of stuff should be smaller than before. Finding stuff tends to be pretty easy in 0.979, so this should temper that a bit.

Plus, there is a new creature out there, and it's not a pleasant one. Beware where you sleep :)

Updates Only in the Beta

In addition to the above, the beta has the following updates:

Added two new, large encounters.

Added new, medium sized encounter.

Added bazaar encounter when trying to sell human meat.

Added Merga corpse item.

Added RTG "hot Brick" cell item.

Added RTG branches to Bob encounter.

Added power tap terrain resource item and art to game, for free power near DMC.

Added Concrete Forest DMC link and stub encounter.

Fixed a bug that caused hardware to discharge too much when software was installed.

Fixed a bug which misreported hardware prices in junk market.

Fixed a bug that allowed flashlights to work inside containers if switched on while holding container.

Fixed a bug that caused double nanobot repair kit charge removal in Bob encounter.

Fixed a bug that removed creatures from savegames if they were in unexplored hex.

Fixed DMC traffic VFX bug.

Changed shiv recipe to not allow corpses (causes deer to be allowed).

Changed augmented eyes purchase encounter to forbid surgery if no eyes.

The big news here is new encounter content. I won't spoil what it is, but there are two more major encounters, a medium one, plus a few mini encounters and tweaks to existing ones. And one of the new encounters has a major secret revealed in it. (If you can find it!)

Electricity should now be easier to come by, between Bob's "Hot Brick" and the tent city power grid. Let me know if you think the new tent city power supply is a good way to handle forest and water resources!

Overall, this build should provide a few new tricks and things to unwrap, plus several fixes and tweaks to make things smoother. Let me know what you think!