The beta for our latest feature arc -- Palladium Reef / New Character Creation -- has arrived. The patch is unpolished but very functional; the full release is likely to come in the next few weeks. Here is an incomplete list of patch notes.

NEW LATE-GAME REGIONS

• Added two new late game regions: Lake Hinnom and the Palladium Reef.
• Added a new village, the Yd Freehold, with several new NPCs.
• Added new creatures: svardym hatchling, svardym jut, svardym scrounge, svardym eld, prism perch, white esh, quatravolt glider, trining lamprey, giant clam, reef hermit, plasma jelly, kaleidoslug, enigma snail, junk dollar, tongue tyrant, sultan croc, star kraken, galgal, and slynth wanderer.
• Added a new side quest (partially implemented). It's up to you to figure out where to get it.
• Expanded the Rainbow Wood and configured it to include dynamic sites like villages, ruins, and lairs.

CHARACTER CREATION AND UI

• Entirely refactored the character generation sequence to be much more sensible, highly moddable, and use an all-new, responsive, fully keyboardable AND mousable UI.
• Added nine new preset character builds. These are designed to help new players get started, but they're also fully customizable.
• Added two new game modes (these were already live on the beta branch):
  • Roleplay Mode - checkpointing at settlements
  • Wander Mode - checkpointing at settlements, no XP for kills, bonus XP for discoveries, creatures begin neutral to you
• Made several enhancements to the new UI.
• [Modding] Added a new, highly-extensible data file, EmbarkModules.xml, that drives character creation.

NEW THINGS

• Added new items: gravity grenade, plasma grenade, eigenpistol, arc winder, high-voltage arc winder, light rail, hand rail, di-thermo beam, spaser rifle, spaser pistol, space inverter, psychal fleshgun, step sowers, 3D cobblers, slip ring, gas tumbler, thermo cask, high-energy thermo cask, chiral rings, tri-hologram bracelet, night-sight interpolators, precision nanon fingers, psychic meridian.
• Added new cybernetic implants: tibular hydrojets, optical multiscanner, magnetic core, skin glitter, stasis projector, crysteel hand bones, and [redacted].
• Added three new item mods: snail-encrusted, nanon, and fitted with beamsplitter.
• Added two new liquids: algae and sunslag.
• Added a new gas: plasma.
• Added a new type of cybernetic implant merchant: gutsmonger. There's one guaranteed in the SE corner of the Stiltgrounds.
• Added organ markets.
• Added a whole bunch of new furniture.
• Added a whole bunch of new tile art.

OTHER CHANGES

• Made significant visual enhancements to the world map.
• Gave several existing merchants cybernetic implants as wares.
• Gunslingers now start with Akimbo instead of Weak Spotter, and they start with much more ammo.
• Water Merchants now start with Short Blade.
• Modified how plant-based cooking effects work.
• Changed salt krakens behavior.
• You can no longer disassemble non-takeable furniture.
• Soup sludges now appear in dynamic encounters.
• Added Omonporch and the Yd Freehold as landmarks.
• Village ovens can no longer include psychal gland paste.
• Morphotypes now show up in the character sheet.
• [Modding] Added three new body types for clams, jellies, and starfish.
• [Beta] Added a wish for late-game testing: reefjump.

If you're interested, come help us test! Our focus right now is on broad scale testing: big bugs, big balance issues, and big UI issues. See this thread for details.

To access the beta: right-click on Caves of Qud in Steam, select Properties, click the Betas tab, and switch to the 'beta' branch.