Hello everyone,
Our first major update since the 1.0 launch is here, and it's one of the biggest updates we've released so far. This update introduces several new features and dozens of fixes based on your feedback on Discord and our forums.
To start things off - we've fully redesigned the Unit Leveling system, making experienced armies far more valuable throughout your campaigns.
Another major addition is a redesigned RTS Day & Night Cycle together with dynamic weather. Battles can now begin at any time of day, with beautiful sunrises, sunsets, night battles, rain, snow, thunderstorms, and soldiers automatically lighting torches after dark.
We've also added a long-requested quality-of-life feature that lets you rearrange units inside armies directly on the World Map, making army organization much easier.
Alongside these new features, this update includes a large number of crash fixes, performance improvements, combat balancing, Sandbox improvements, UI polish, economy adjustments, and many gameplay fixes.
As always, thank you for all your feedback, bug reports, reviews, and suggestions. They continue to shape the game with every update.
Now let's take a closer look at what this update brings:
RTS Crash Fixes
Properly fixed the AI siege crash while siege towers are active
Siege towers re-enabled
World Map Crash Fixes
Rare loading screen crash now occurs much less frequently
Fixed rare crash affecting some systems during season changes
Unit Leveling
Completely redesigned unit leveling system
Level 5 units can now take on roughly two level 1 units
Level 10 units can now take on roughly four level 1 units
Leveling now increases attack, health, and defense
Updated unit stats are now properly displayed in both RTS and World Map
Units defending walls receive additional defensive bonuses against ranged attacks
Wall defense bonuses are now shown correctly in unit tooltips
Rearranging Units
Units can now be rearranged inside armies and cities on the World Map
Move units onto empty slots or swap positions with other units
Rearranging also works while transferring units between cities and armies
Multiple units can be moved in a single transfer
RTS Day & Night & Weather
Added full day and night cycle to RTS battles
Improved sunrise, sunset, and nighttime visuals
Added dynamic rain, snow, thunderstorms, and other weather effects
Units automatically light torches during night battles
Battles and city scenes now begin at random times of day or night
Weather may already be active when entering a battle or town
Faster day cycle (around 5 minutes) for more dynamic battles
Greatly improved rain and snow performance
Winter and rain no longer cause scrolling lag
Improved overall visual quality of weather effects
World Map Improvements
Fixed heroes not respawning in Sandbox mode
Heroes now respawn in a new city if the capital has been lost
Pisa attacks the player more aggressively during the Genoa campaign
Reduced AI wars between non-player nations
Improved World Map performance and reduced micro stutters
Slightly reduced maximum zoom level
Improved grass visuals
RTS Combat Improvements
Fixed AI destroying player buildings far too quickly during sieges
Buildings are now significantly tougher and require sustained attacks to destroy
Fixed ranged units destroying buildings unrealistically fast
UI Improvements
Completely redesigned Research window tooltips with improved artwork
Fog of war is now much easier to see
Enemy heraldry is now displayed when selecting enemy units in RTS
Fixed reward window close button on 2560×1440 resolution
Fixed rare issue preventing some players from hiring a lord
Fixed incorrect palisade walls appearing in some Sandbox towns
Sandbox
Improved Sandbox intro and victory cinematics
General Sandbox balancing and polish
Pirates now appear in newly created Sandbox campaigns
Stronger starting army including a Monk, additional troops, and more support units
Other Fixes
Improved Italian localization, including research technologies
Starting the Genoa campaign without the tutorial now unlocks the remaining campaigns
Looting and razing cities no longer generates random trade goods
Fixed unintended trade goods being gained from random events
Water lighting improved during morning, evening, and nighttime
Fixed broken fir trees appearing in southern World Map regions
Balance Changes
Rebalanced research times, with many technologies taking longer to complete
Academies are now much more important for progressing through the research tree
Palisade army camps can now be constructed much faster during sieges
Relaxed World Map economy, increasing overall player income by approximately 20%
Increased the cost of wall defense weapon upgrades
Iron and Tar are now much easier to find through trade, making research progression smoother