August 23 Weekly Update: V0.7.9c Is Live; City-States and Neutral Heroes

Hello everyone! This is Tenkajin IceCream, developer of TOHOTOPIA!

Here is an update on the development work my partner and I completed this week (August 17-23).

Stable Version V0.7.9c Is Now Live

Stable version V0.7.9c officially launched this week! This update adds City-States, Barbarian Camps, and Neutral Heroes to the map, and implements the first phase of adjustments to the Hakurei and Scarlet Empires. Empire Timeline, map filters, City Library, and Lucky White Rabbit Game House are also now available.

Neutral content such as City-States and Barbarian Camps can be freely enabled or disabled in the map options. Whether you want richer exploration and diplomacy or prefer the original match pacing, you can configure them to suit your playstyle.

New Neutral Powers: City-States and Barbarian Camps

City-States are neutral powers that occupy a single tile. You can send Envoys to establish relations and gain economic or Science bonuses, or conquer a City-State and turn it into one of your own cities.

The first City-States are the Trade City-State "Venice" and the Science City-State "Fez." Venice grants extra Gold to the Capital and Markets. Once you become its Suzerain, connected cities can share the Capital's economic bonuses. Fez grants extra Science to the Capital and Academies, while its Suzerain receives a 20% reduction to all technology research costs.

Barbarian Camps, meanwhile, continually send out Barbarians and Raiders to harass nearby territory. Left unchecked, they can become a lasting threat along your borders; clear them successfully to earn a large Gold reward.

Two Neutral Heroes Arrive

Joining Venice is Mystia Lorelei, the "Night Sparrow of the Silk Road." This Neutral Hero specializes in support and control. Her signature ability, "Song of the Night Sparrow," inflicts "Night Blindness" on nearby enemies as she moves, hindering their actions.

Fez brings Mamizou Futatsuiwa, the "Traveler of Myriad Forms." This strategic Hero excels at changing form. Her signature ability, "Ten Transformations," lets her imitate any allied or enemy non-Hero unit and borrow its form and strengths. Choosing the right target gives her entirely different uses in different situations.

City-State Heroes do not belong to any player empire. After becoming a City-State's Suzerain, you can spend Gold to recruit its associated Neutral Hero into your forces. We hope these Heroes offer more than just new units, creating meaningful choices between befriending and conquering City-States.

Hakurei and Scarlet Adjustments Enter the Live Phase

We also incorporated past player feedback into this round of faction balance adjustments. About 50% of the planned content is now live, with the remainder coming in the near future.

The Hakurei Empire's core pacing has been reorganized around "Raiding and Spoils." We adjusted the Round-Shield Infantry, Berserker Samurai, and Dragon Ship, while adding the giant naval unit "Hafgufa" and the signature mechanic "Dream of Vinland." The Scarlet Empire further strengthens Red Mist as its core mechanic, adjusts the Imp Priest's form switching, and allows Bats to be trained in Red Mist. Hero adjustments for both factions are not yet complete, and we will continue testing and developing them.

Relive the Glorious History of Each Match

"Empire Timeline" records the rise, decline, and turning points of every match, generating dedicated charts and historical records after a match or from the match-history page. Beyond the final result and statistics, you can now revisit how an empire rose step by step and where its fortunes changed.

The map filters provide Territory, Yield, and Unit views, letting you switch perspectives instantly and grasp key battlefield information more quickly. The new "Cities" section in the Library collects the history and curiosities of cities around the world, including their appearance across different eras, geographical features, and special Hero commentary.

Minigames for the Waiting Time

"Lucky White Rabbit Game House" is also now in the game. Its minigame entrance can be enabled in Settings. It brings together several light, casual minigames, offering a little fun while waiting for other players to act in an online match. This is not a huge new system, just a small and lightweight corner created for those waiting moments.

The New Myouren Empire Is Preparing to Enter

Alongside this stable update, development of the sixth faction, the Myouren Empire, continues. What kind of combat style will it bring, and what roles will its characters play? We will share more once the content is further along.

City-States, Barbarian Camps, and Neutral Heroes are all included as a free update. We hope you will try the new content and continue sharing your impressions and suggestions with us!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support!