Our first major Early Access update: formations and sieges

Our first major Early Access update is now live.

Since Three Kingdoms Reimagined entered Early Access, you've told us that battles too often collapse into one crowded melee. Formations need to matter, and attacking a settlement should ask more of you than repeating the same approach on the same map.

Those complaints shaped our first major update. We've improved the existing combat director, added six settlement layouts, and expanded the character creator with new portraits and voices.

Armies that move with a plan

Infantry companies now keep a more stable order across the battle line. They approach separate contact positions, with spacing based on company width. When the front is too crowded, additional companies approach from a second rank.

Formation intent also stays with infantry as they move. Soldiers already fighting within reach can keep fighting, while the formation system handles gaps and returning troops. Bow companies take separate support positions behind the infantry. Cavalry stages a flanking approach before committing to an attack, with a fallback when terrain gets in the way.

We've kept the existing director and improved its decisions. These changes are intended to make movement easier to read and give positioning more weight. They don't guarantee a tidy battle once the lines meet, and we'll keep tuning them with your reports.

Six different settlement battles

Three wall layouts give assaults different approaches: an avenue, a hillside, and a causeway. The terrain and routes change where troops can gather and how they reach the defenses.

The other three maps are unwalled villages: a crossroads, a riverside settlement, and a hill village. There are houses, paths, and a central objective to capture and hold. These battles have no walls, battering rams, or ladders. Defenders have to use the settlement itself.

All six layouts are available in Custom Battle. Campaign settlements choose a consistent layout from their location seed. We've also adjusted village defense behavior, building sight lines, and wall assignments so mounted defenders aren't sent to ladders.

More ways to make your ruler

The creator gains 20 portraits, split evenly between male and female characters, and 10 voices with English and Mandarin recordings. This update also includes Lü Bu's revised portrait and a new, more measured delivery for the Veteran General voice.

What we'll be watching

The release checks cover formation orders, settlement combat, large deployments, replay consistency, and multiplayer synchronization. Playtesting still matters. Tell us which map you fought on, which side you played, and where troops became stuck, crowded together, or abandoned a useful position. A save, replay, or short clip helps us reproduce it.

Thank you for giving the game a chance this early and being direct about what needs work. Keep the battle reports coming.