Grounded's 'Fully Yoked' Update 1.4: A Bigger, Bolder Backyard Awaits!

Hey, Grounded fans! The backyard is buzzing with excitement, and it's all because of our latest update, "Fully Yoked" – and yes, it's as massive as it sounds! We're not just talking big; it's bulging with a ton of new content, features, and quality-of-life updates! This Fully Yoked update is here to turn your backyard into an epic adventure like never before. Let's dive into the wonders waiting for you in this colossal update!

New Neighbors: Ant Queens and Your Decisions

The royal Ant Queens have arrived! These regal creatures are more than just a new face; they bring a new vibe to the backyard. When meeting them, it won’t be about 'flexing your muscles' in combat but more about flexing your decision-making skills; it’s about choices and consequences - ally with them and gain powerful friends, betray them and brace for some severe ant-itude, or you can do the third option, which is [REDACTED]! These decisions echo across your entire experience, so choose your path wisely and watch your journey unfold with these new influential neighbors.

And the excitement doesn’t stop there – get ready for 12 new Ant Queen-inspired buildings, like the grand Ant Queen Chaises and Chandeliers as the 'bench press' of ant architecture. Plus, for pet enthusiasts, there's a heartwarming twist – the chance to adopt a baby ant pet. Remember, every choice in the ant world carries weight, shaping the relationships within this tiny, yet 'mighty', kingdom.

Backyard Adventures: Remixed!

Get ready to 'lift' your adventure to new heights with our 'New Game+' mode. After you conquer the mightiest of foes like the Broodmother and the Wasp Queen, you'll unlock the REMIX.R, leading you to alternate dimensions with remixed challenges. Every playthrough is a unique experience with creatures appearing in new spots, more demanding bosses, and hidden secrets.

But beware – some creatures are infused with Raw Science, making them stronger, faster, and harder to fight. Overcome these challenges to collect special trinkets with unique properties. Plus, don't miss out on the new ASL content, Milk Molars in randomized locations, and the all-important Yoking Station for that extra power boost in remixed yards.

Quality of Life: It's All About the Experience

We're always listening to our community, and this update brings quality-of-life improvements that make the backyard more enjoyable. Multiplayer fans, rejoice! Hosts can now switch saves without a hitch, keeping the adventure flowing. Lost a pet? Our 'Recover Pets' feature ensures they'll find their way back home. For our builders and creators, the new object capacity meter is a godsend for optimizing performance and sharing your world creations.

Speaking of creation, the Playground mode now offers even more control and options for crafting your unique backyard. Report rule-violating Playgrounds, quickly identify trinkets, and delve into a trove of new content – it's all part of enhancing your Grounded experience.

Hulking Content: More Items, More Fun!

"Fully Yoked" is not holding back. The update is packed with over 20 new items and equipment, from the Termite King Pipe Organ to decorative rugs. Achievement hunters prepare for new challenges and the game-changing 'Antbassador' mutation. And we didn't forget about Playgrounds as they received fresh news props to add more possibilities for creativity.

Wrapping Up This Final Content Update

To help show you how Grounded is now beefier than ever, continue reading the patch notes below! The 'Fully Yoked' update brings endless possibilities to your backyard escapades. The game has evolved in many ways, such as adding full Japanese VO for all players to check out. On top of that, the game can now be played on multiple platforms, including the newly added PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch. Now, players across all platforms can experience this Grounded: Fully Yoked edition of the final game, together.

Lastly, a huge thank you to our incredible community. Your support and passion have shaped Grounded into what it is today. As our last planned content update, we promise to keep refining and perfecting your experience in the game so you and your friends can play in the backyard.

Stay safe, and as always – stay Grounded!

The Fully Yoked Edition Patch Notes

Hey Grounded fans! We are proud to present to you the "Fully Yoked" 1.4 update: the premiere Grounded experience swole with new content.

Ant Queens

Each of the three ant colonies now has a royal leader residing deep within their respective hills. These new Ant Queens are not fightable bosses. They instead offer you a choice: either befriend or betray with a tasty offering. Which you choose affects the rewards you receive and how the colony reacts. Some choices have cascading effects that aren't immediately apparent...

The Backyard, Remixed (New Game+)

Next up, we've remixed your backyard! Introducing the New Game+ mode: a complete overhaul that adds layers of complexity and challenge. Instead of finishing the game, you will have the option to enter an alternate dimension via the new REMIX.R device. Each playthrough in this mode remixes the yard in a host of ways that will give you new challenges and rewards.

Accessing New Game+ requires defeating the Broodmother, Mantis, Wasp Queen, and completing the Javamatic fight. When entering this mode, all of your existing bases, items, recipes unlocks, etc. will carry over with you.

New Game+ Features

Infused Creatures

In Remixed backyards, creatures can be infused with the power of Raw Science. Not only do they have more health, do more damage, and attack faster, but they also have unique properties that make them extra challenging.

New Trinkets

The good news is that infused creatures can drop special trinkets that are also infused with Raw Science. These new trinkets also have special randomized properties. Ominent Badges can be collected again, and have new properties, and every BURG.L Chip awards a new BURG.L Chip Trinket, they too will have randomized properties to give you more options on how to build your character.

Yoking Station +10

The Yoking Station, available at the ASL in a remixed yard, allows you to upgrade your weapons to even more powerful levels. To upgrade your weapons, you will need to find new materials and resources only found in remixed yards.

Slurp the Core with More Molars

Molars can be gathered once more, and you will need to continue to collect them to stay as swole as the creatures of the yard. In a remixed yard, the molars are now in new, randomized locations.

New ASL Additions

There are a large number of new additions to the Science Shop. Check out the ASL for a new sign set, the Yoking Station, new weapons, equipment, and more, that can only be purchased in a remixed yard. To help with purchasing the new items there are new Raw Science spawn locations, and MIX.Rs have increased rewards.

Even More

There are other changes that are made to the yard in a remixed world, including more loot chests, different candy, and some other surprises.

New Platforms

The game can now be played additional platforms, including the newly added PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch. Players across all platforms can experience this Grounded: Fully Yoked edition of the final game, together, with crossplay!

Additional New Features

"Bugs Fight Each Other" Custom Game Option

• By default, natural enemies will fight each other if they are near each other, and neutral creatures will fight each other if struck accidentally. This can now be turned off (useful in Playgrounds when designing encounter rooms for the player).

Additional Playground Features

Link Colors

• Links now have 5 color options for distinguishing them while editing.

Quality of Life Features

Multiplayer Load Game

• You can now load a save while in the middle of a multiplayer session. All connected clients will load into the new world once the load is complete.

Recover Pets

• A new Game Repair button has been added to recover any pets that are not currently following you.
• Pets allocated to a pet house will also teleport to their house, in case they are outside of the terrain.

Object Capacity

• An object capacity meter can be found on the pause menu that tells you how many objects, either in a Playground or a standard game, you have in your level. This is useful to know if you are sharing worlds with lower end machines to make sure the game can be played reliably on all hardware.
• If you have no intention of having your yard be as crossplay compatible as possible, this capacity limit can be changed in the Game Settings menu to match your platform's suggested limit or have no limit at all.

Playground Link Copy/Paste

• There are now buttons available to copy and paste the configuration of a Link in a Playground.

Playground Browser Filtering

• Community Playgrounds can be filtered by keywords, player count and genre while browsing.

Reporting Playgrounds

• Community Playgrounds can be reported by players if they violate rules.

New Content

New Buildings

• 12 Ant Queen-related buildings
  • Chaise Lounges
  • Chandeliers
  • Stuffed Queens
  • Head Mount
• Yoking Station
• New Floor Rugs
• Termite King Pipe Organ
• REDACTED

New Pet

• 3 new Baby Ant Pets to befriend.

New Equipment

• Over 20 new items and equipment.
• Over 20 new trinkets.

A lot of these will be found only in New Game+

New Mutations

• Antbassador - Become one with the ants of the yard.

New Signs

• A new sign-set that can only be purchased in New Game+

4 New Achievements

• 2 for the base game
• 2 for New Game+

Full Japanese Voice Overs

• The game now has full Japanese voice over, including voices for the teens, BURG.L, cutscenes, and audio logs. Select Japanese Voice Over from the Game Options menu to enable this feature.

Playgrounds New Content

There are a number of new props that are now available to be placed in Playgrounds. This includes the Jack o Lantern, Ice Caps Box, Big TazT, Big Dice, Wendell Chair, Big SCA.B Mesh, Stump Bark and Pulp, Rash, Yoked Girth and Yogi Swole, Quarter, Garden Light, Milk Molar Bottle and Lid, Gnome, Baseball Bat, Trash Bag, Pink Slip, Anarchis, Lab Dome, Pink Flower Petals, Cattails, Honeycomb, Lilypad, Shovel, Cacti, Charcoal Bag, Moldorc's Castle, the Bird Bath, and more.

Other Changes / Tuning

Combat

• Attack speed slow effects no longer stack.

Animation

• Stagger animations for all ants and stinkbugs now physically displace them.

Armor and Weapons

• Increasing scythe attack speed by 15%.
• Lowering attack speed bonus granted by battle axe combo finishers by 5%.
• The Mighty upgrade path now applies an additional status effect to weapons, much like the Sleek upgrade path for armor.

Items

• Trinket items that previously appeared as brown bags now have a new shared trinket model.
• Gold cards are not required for 100% on the Report Card.

UI

• Quest objectives on the map show the quest name now when hovered over.
• Trailer Marker names are shown on the map when hovering over a Trail Marker icon if a name is set.
• Improved image quality of item icons on lower end hardware.

Audio

• New audio track added for New Game+

Playgrounds

• Ziplines created in Playground edit mode cannot be recycled or renamed in Play mode.

Optimization

• Significantly reduced the CPU load of the game.
• Significantly reduced the CPU load during defense events.
• Reduced memory usage across the game.
• Saving the game is now faster.

Bug Fixes

Major Fixes

• Audio logs that were collected but not showing up in the Data tab will properly show up now.
  • This was affecting some people from getting 100%.
• Animations and audio work correctly for clients when someone else uses a dandelion tuft.
• Some buildings placed in very specific locations will no longer be unsupported upon loading the save.
• Fixed a problem where certain stacks of ladders could cause a saved game to never finish loading.
• Non-grid buildings attached to grid buildings will now appear and disappear correctly on clients.
• Bugs will interact with the world around them more often (Lady Bugs chasing Aphids, Aphids dropping Honeydew, etc.)

Other Fixes

• You can steal from aphids while wearing sleek aphid slippers.
• "Read To Me" will now read building customization sliders correctly.
• Buildings cannot be placed inside stem pallets.
• Digging up Koi fish bones and scales as a client no longer has them float up quickly and teleport back.
• Weapon upgrade icons on the HotPouch no longer disappear after hitting something.
• Black Ants properly navigate from outside the Trash area back to their ant hill.

Playgrounds Fixes

• The building distance axis will now be properly conveyed to clients in Playground Design Mode.
• Preplaced grid buildings placed in the air can no longer be induced to collapse in Play Mode, unless Building Damage is enabled.
• Non-building actors placed on slopes will no longer change rotation slightly when relocated.
• Placed objects with simulated physics now correctly simulate physics in play mode and not in edit mode.
• If an object is rescaled while being relocated, clients will now see the correct scale.
• Pre-existing scene objects will no longer disappear when loading the game after trashing them and then undoing the trash.
• In edit mode, destroying a building with other buildings attached to it will now reliably destroy the dependent buildings as well.
• The Toggle Grid Snap radial menu option now works even outside of placement mode.
• Slime Mold Grass will no longer become uninteractable after being relocated.
• Double-clicking a building supporting Place Many in the Playgrounds build menu will no longer immediately place a copy.
• Buildings placed on scaled buildings will no longer sometimes appear at the wrong height.
• Mushrooms will no longer lose their stems when relocated.
• Undo operations cannot be redone if another player makes conflicting changes to the same actors.
• The Lab Control Panel now faces the correct way when placed on walls.
• Dandelion D can now be placed and trashed in Playgrounds.
• Cacti can now be copied and relocated.
• Dice can now be copied and relocated.
• Mushroom Curved Doors will no longer rotate and break after cancelling connection from them.
• ASL Terminal and Resource Surveyor screens will appear correctly after undoing destruction.
• ASL Terminal and Resource Surveyor will actually reappear when destruction is undone.
• Players can no longer become stuck on the Frankenline when transitioning between Play and Design mode.
• Strange Spore is easier to place.
• Table B can now be stacked.