1. Added preferences/aversions to the land when a new adviser buys a residence. 2. Added shortcut keys: B to open Building Workshop, T for opening talents
Bug Fix:
1.Warning icon now faces to the player when game is paused but view angle is adjusted. 2. Sometimes land was switched to Hongye and building diversity was calculated incorrectly when challenge was about to end in challenge mode. This issue shouldn't occur again. 3. Fixed early warning function of friendly Guard Towers 4. Battle alerts won't pop-up anymore if "Whip and Ride" is used when the challenge is in progress at North Desert. 5. Mysterious Merchant's avatar now displays correctly.
Optimizations:
1. Adjusted Famous City mechanic, Hongye is more competitive than before now. 2. Adjusted adviser skills: Zhang Yi: Now reduced enemy dispatch speed by 50% Han Xin: Emergency Training now increases construction speed by 30% Huo Qubing: Burning Gale now dismantles enemy barracks 25% faster and its duration is increased to 15 days. 3. North Desert difficulty adjustments.
Serene Mode, Now Available!
Dear Magistrates, Thank you for your patience and support. Since our launch, we have received various feedback and introduced updates almost daily to meet our players' needs. So far we've balanced the challenge content and fixed many critical bugs and introduced several optimizations for player experience.
Of course, the most frequently asked thing was a mode that you could play without worrying about challenges or evaluation from the council. Here we are, with our newly developed mode, which will hopefully suit your needs. We hope that you'll like this mode and enjoy it thoroughly as you can now progress at your own pace and focus on management and building beautiful cities.
Serene Mode is now available!
In this new mode, players do not have to worry about challenges, time limits or any goals to win the right to rule the lands. Develop your industry, manage your existing lands well and accumulate resources to buy new buildings and purchase the right to rule over the new lands.
Ask your questions to developers directly on our Discord community
With the release of our new mode, you can be sure that we'll be all ears to listen to your feedback and make changes accordingly. For your suggestions and questions about gameplay systems and new content expectations, one of our developers will actively answer your questions on ask-the-developers channel on our Discord community. If you're interested in reaching out to developers directly, this is your chance!
New Content
Serene Mode is now available. Expand your land and building collection through your income while developing your city at your own pace, there are no challenge goals or time limits in this new mode, but you still need to manage the economy and pay attention to your finances to prevent bankcrupcy.
Optimization
1. If the city level application conditions are met, a special effect will be displayed as a reminder 2. Optimized obstacled at the edge and corners of the map and some vegetation on mountains for better visibility 3. Optimize the razing effects for buildings 4. Overhead icons for all buildings replaced with a 2D version for better clarity 5. Text optimizations for all languages 6. You can now choose the business hours for Wonder Buildings 7. Added overhead icons for destroyed buildings(referred as ruins in-game) 8. Raise the priority of Observatory and Guard Tower being attacked
Bug Fixes
1. Fixed the war being stopped if game saved/loaded while Observatory skill was activated. 2. Fix the problem in North Desert challenge where, under specific conditions, Observatory skills would cause Goal Achieved button to not appear. 3. Fix a problem unlocking an incorrect achivement when an adviser is Poached and adviser team score is recalculated after. 4. Fixed an issue where players could click Goal achieved button if "War is imminent" was triggered. 5. Confirmation boxes now work as intended and you cannot choose the wrong slot during the confirmation while saving the game. 6. Fix some problems that can be encountered while razing Blueprint buildings 7. Soldiers transported by courier station now correctly counted in the challenge lands and goals 8. Fixed incorrect display for market opening time 9. Market opening time and its progress bar is now in sync, progress bar wasn't displaying the correct progress before. 10. When negating the effect of Drought, camera would sometimes pull up and display a white pre-rendered sihouette of a building. 11. Fixed abnormal display of "new" tag on Hospital and Charcoal Workshop on Building Workshop when they're freshly unlocked. 12. Fixed the problem that when challenging North Desert, if conscription office was removed and game was immediately saved and loaded afterwards, Barracks wouldn't transform back to Residences. 13. Fixed an issue where the disaster icon disappeared if the affected building was upgraded simultaneously, if a disaster that affected all the land, such as Frost was triggered. 14. Fixed an issue where Xiang Yu's active ability could activate low level Observatory attacks 15. When the game is paused, the icons for Observatory's skill activation and Watch Tower's warning icon now correctly follow the camera movement. 16. When Commercial Wonder collapses after several instant completions, progress of Wonder Building won't be stuck anymore.
We hope that you like the new mode and keep enjoying Ballads of Hongye. Our constant updates and improvements couldn't have been done without your amazing feedback and suggestions. We are looking forward to improving the game even more with major updates in the future. Thank you for your support Magistrates.
Dear Magistrates, Thank you for your patience and support. Since our launch, we have received various feedback and introduced updates almost daily to meet our players' needs. So far we've balanced the challenge content and fixed many critical bugs and introduced several optimizations for player experience.
Of course, the most frequently asked thing was a mode that you could play without worrying about challenges or evaluation from the council. Here we are, with our newly developed mode, which will hopefully suit your needs. We hope that you'll like this mode and enjoy it thoroughly as you can now progress at your own pace and focus on management and building beautiful cities.
Serene Mode is now available!
In this new mode, players do not have to worry about challenges, time limits or any goals to win the right to rule the lands. Develop your industry, manage your existing lands well and accumulate resources to buy new buildings and purchase the right to rule over the new lands.
Ask your questions to developers directly on our Discord community
With the release of our new mode, you can be sure that we'll be all ears to listen to your feedback and make changes accordingly. For your suggestions and questions about gameplay systems and new content expectations, one of our developers will actively answer your questions on ask-the-developers channel on our Discord community. If you're interested in reaching out to developers directly, this is your chance!
New Content
Serene Mode is now available. Expand your land and building collection through your income while developing your city at your own pace, there are no challenge goals or time limits in this new mode, but you still need to manage the economy and pay attention to your finances to prevent bankcrupcy.
Optimization
1. If the city level application conditions are met, a special effect will be displayed as a reminder 2. Optimized obstacled at the edge and corners of the map and some vegetation on mountains for better visibility 3. Optimize the razing effects for buildings 4. Overhead icons for all buildings replaced with a 2D version for better clarity 5. Text optimizations for all languages 6. You can now choose the business hours for Wonder Buildings 7. Added overhead icons for destroyed buildings(referred as ruins in-game) 8. Raise the priority of Observatory and Guard Tower being attacked
Bug Fixes
1. Fixed the war being stopped if game saved/loaded while Observatory skill was activated. 2. Fix the problem in North Desert challenge where, under specific conditions, Observatory skills would cause Goal Achieved button to not appear. 3. Fix a problem unlocking an incorrect achivement when an adviser is Poached and adviser team score is recalculated after. 4. Fixed an issue where players could click Goal achieved button if "War is imminent" was triggered. 5. Confirmation boxes now work as intended and you cannot choose the wrong slot during the confirmation while saving the game. 6. Fix some problems that can be encountered while razing Blueprint buildings 7. Soldiers transported by courier station now correctly counted in the challenge lands and goals 8. Fixed incorrect display for market opening time 9. Market opening time and its progress bar is now in sync, progress bar wasn't displaying the correct progress before. 10. When negating the effect of Drought, camera would sometimes pull up and display a white pre-rendered sihouette of a building. 11. Fixed abnormal display of "new" tag on Hospital and Charcoal Workshop on Building Workshop when they're freshly unlocked. 12. Fixed the problem that when challenging North Desert, if conscription office was removed and game was immediately saved and loaded afterwards, Barracks wouldn't transform back to Residences. 13. Fixed an issue where the disaster icon disappeared if the affected building was upgraded simultaneously, if a disaster that affected all the land, such as Frost was triggered. 14. Fixed an issue where Xiang Yu's active ability could activate low level Observatory attacks 15. When the game is paused, the icons for Observatory's skill activation and Watch Tower's warning icon now correctly follow the camera movement. 16. When Commercial Wonder collapses after several instant completions, progress of Wonder Building won't be stuck anymore.
We hope that you like the new mode and keep enjoying Ballads of Hongye. Our constant updates and improvements couldn't have been done without your amazing feedback and suggestions. We are looking forward to improving the game even more with major updates in the future. Thank you for your support Magistrates.
1. Fixed an issue of repeated constructions to complete goal on Hongye starter challenge if challenge was failed before. 2. Clicking M or ESC key while clicking "Challenge" button no longer causes a stuck. 3. Fixed an special effects issue with North Desert's Observatory. 4. Observatory skills can no longer be used when the game is paused. 5. Destruction of enemy buildings by Observatory is now included in the mission goal. 6. Repairing the city gates and walls built by players will also trigger the event of soldiers advance and breaking into the city 7. Shipyard now displays its attibutes correctly and related industry chains are now working as intended. 8. Probability maps for disasters shouldn't disappear now. 9. Fixed an issue that would cause resources from challenge land to be consumed during the challenges when building the Wonder Building in the basecamp Hongye.
Optimizations:
1. Adjusted the prerequisite of Talent - Adviser - Fame is Fame 2. Adjusted the cost and annual tax of Adviser's Residence 3. Increased maximum number of cards for Design Institute 4. Changed ESC menu "Instructions" to "Tips&Hints" 5. Added Hunter Hut as a reward for completing Hongye with an S+, if you previously got this score, it is automatically added to your building workshop.
Patch Notes[11.28.2022]
Bug Fix:
1. Prevented backend errors that would be caused by saving and loading the game when a crime was in progress. 2. Fixed a text bug that appeared occasionally after removing a tumuli 3. Fixed an issue that would prevent generating tumuli when population is consumed through Strategy Cards 4. Fixed an issue that would cause Brassware Store animations and disaster animations to be scattered on each other 5. Fixed building tile issues at the edge of the land, they should be more consistent now. 6. Fixed an issue that roads weren't providing their intended bonus to certain buildings
Optimizations:
1. Talent unlock and upgrade costs are significantly reduced. 2. Added support for frame selection and deletion for City Wall and fences 3. Changed some talent descriptions to explain their function and conditions better. 4. Increase pruduction of Handicraft building Waterwheel, and adjusted production values for Blueprint buildings Spring Stone and Carpe Diem Tavern accordingly. 5. Increased production values and internal levels for Rare and Divine blueprint buildings, and adjusted construction cost, maintenance cost and demanded population accordingly. 6. Added a new ruins marker above destroyed buildings.
Patch Notes[11.26.2022]
Bug Fix:
1. Fixed an issue with the number of dead soldiers affecting the evaluation score. 2. Fixed several information display errors on the ledger 3. Other cities in the Famous Cities list now gains or loses popularity as intended. 4. Fixed building outline issues. Buildings which are in an effect radius show their respective outline correctly now. 5. Fixed an UI stuck issue during the Year-End Staff Party 6. Fixed an issue that would prevent soldiers from being dispatched if the game is loaded several times from the same save slot. 7. Labor Support Campaign talent now works as intended and as explained in its description.
Optimizations:
1. Adjusted the location of Talent - Security- Seismic Tower. It can be unlocked earlier than before now. 2. Challenge lands now include DLC pack content as intended. 3. Using Jiyang Ziya's Temporary Recruitment skill now shows how many people are recruited. 4. Adjusted the tip for Transport function of Courier Station, displaying where the respective talent can be found. 5. Reduced the popularity demand of city promotions 6. Added more tips about soldier resources and suspensions 7. Added new initial buildings to Cloud Grotto, two barracks and one Conscription Office 8. Increased the number of maximum tumuli that can be created 9. Reduced the effect and frequency of tumuli surges
Patch Notes[11.25.2022]
Bug Fix:
1.Fixed an issue that was slightly changing the layout of Blueprint buildings after loading a saved game 2.Talent - Slick Tongue now carries out its functions correctly on Level 5 too. 3.Replaced a duplicate Ventriloquist Square from Mysterious Merchant with Old Peach Statue. 4.Fixed an issue where Wonder Building construction caused an endless loading screen.
Optimizations:
1.Ending cinematic now can be skipped if it was seen before. 2.Refugee camps cannot destroy enemy barracks or Wonder buildings
Patch Notes[11.17.2022]
Bug Fix:
1. Adviser Residences now correctly display the production and income, it appeared as 0 before. 2. Adviser Residences can now be sold again after you fire the respective adviser living in that residence. 3. Fixed an issue where during the fail screen of a challenge market opening would still be triggered if it was the opening time. This won't happen anymore. 4. Fixed incorrect display of happiness during city promotion application in some cases 5. Fixed the coloring issues for status/buff icons when Wonder Building was active. 6. Fixed an issue where disasters would appear/disappear too frequently after loading a save game. 7. Fixed an issue where you could move Conscription Office to the challenge plot even if its not obtained. 8. Fixed an issue of not being able to build when the mouse opens the Wonder Building interface and selects build when the pointer state is upgrade state.
Optimizations:
1. Optimization of reward displays in city title menu 2. A second confirmation will pop up when the Design Institute blueprint is completed 3. Some optimizations for community donations. 4. Added a tip to where to unlock the talent to ride a horse while browsing horses. 5.Wonder Building - insufficient resources are now displayed with red in the quick completion interface 6.Changed time limit for extending orders, it is now 30 days from 10 days. 7.Increased the success rate for City promotions
Other Adjustment:
1. Behavior of military barracks during disasters is adjusted as below: - Fire, plague: loss of soldiers(limited, fixed amount), cannot dispatch soldiers - Famine: Constantly lose soldiers 2. There will be no Crime in barracks from now on. 3. Earthquake no longer have a critical effect on buildings related to goals. 4. Talent-unlocking morgue: No longer require the city rank to reach the tire 1, can be unlocked after passing the West Ridge
Future Development Plans
Hello everyone. Firstly, I sincerely thank each of you for playing our game and sharing your feedback and opinions with us. I personally sat and read all the reviews and discussed them with the team. I think it would be appropriate for me to answer some of your questions as the main lead of this project, and share Seasun's future plans for Ballads of Hongye. I hope my words will make our future direction clear and allow you to keep an eye on us. I'll start by answering some of the recurring questions both in Steam and our Discord community, then later explain our future plan.
1. Why do we have time limited challenges? What's the purpose of having such a system? When we were at the beginning of development, we had a general idea of creating a simulation/management game that would progress by passing certain checkpoints and expanding your HQ infinitely by constantly reaching harder and more complex checkpoints. In reality, these checkpoints were numerical checks, but how to reach these numerical points would be the real challenge for us. City-building, as one of our favorite genres, seemed well suited to establish the task of combining numerical targets. We have discussed extensively about going the traditional route for city builders, but as a team we decided to do something out of the ordinary. Our idea grew into putting the player as a mayor, a ruler of a city, where the player would learn the game together with the main character in the game. I think as an idea, we nailed this aspect, but after reading your opinions and feedback, I realize that we haven't been that successful with numerical adjustments and balancing. I feel terribly sorry for the issues stemming from this balance and other related issues. We will, undoubtedly, improve these things as quickly as we can.
2. Why don't we have a Sandbox mode or something similar in Ballads of Hongye? As some of you may know, our development team is relatively small, and our main task was to deliver the core gameplay content: such as architecture, environments, art , details, other gameplay systems... Hence, we haven't developed a sandbox mode, and preferred to focus on our original idea and develop it first. In the future, we are looking forward to making the game modes that are more in-line with other similar games, and providing our players with more options.
3. Why do challenges feel so difficult? We have developed a series of adjustment plans for each stage within a challenge, and we will continue to optimize and balance many aspects, such as disaster occurance rate, talent unlock conditions and costs, management tools to a satisfactory degree.
As for our development plan, we are sharing our short-term and long-term goals with you, and will keep our community updated with latest progress as soon as possible in the upcoming days.
Short term goals: 1. Optimize and adjust the difficulty, including reducing the frequency of disasters, optimizing problems such as high difficulty in challenges, talents and fast-paced gameplay; 2. Introduce a series of quality of life improvements for designing roads, building placement, tumuli issues, talent functionality, city tiers etc. We are also considering the impacts of allowing pause on build and its feasibility for our unique setting. 3. Performance optimizations will be gradually introduced to solve low frame rate and fps drops 4. A new mode, on top of the existing ones, has been put on schedule. In this mode, players can directly use in-game resources to buy new lands and new buildings instead of completing the stages.
Long term plans: 1. Tune the game to be more in-line with traditional methods and designs of similar games 2. New lands to build on, and new challenges 3. More buildings, wonders and transportation vehicles 4. A free DLC for all of our players. We'll update you with what will be included in this DLC later.
Thank you again, for your support to Ballads of Hongye. We will do our best to bring you a much better experience.
1. Fixed a text display problems in Ding Hong's Journal 2. Fixed the problem that the final target of the challenge was disappearing after players load the challenge from a save. 3. Market would trigger and would move you back to Hongye interface during a challenge. This won't be happening anymore. 5. Fixed some numerical issues for the ledger and bank interface. 6. Fix an issue preventing some achievements to trigger on Steam when players reach the conditions for it. Players who have achieved these conditions will be automatically granted these achievements, and do not need to redo them. 7. Fixed an issue that was incorrectly deducting adviser salaries. 8. Resources displayed in ledger is now correctly synchronized with the resource display in the main interface.
Optimizations:
1. Several adjustments to talent menu to reduce performance impacts when talents browsed too quickly, 2. Text optimization to display key info in Repair Division tooltip, 3. Adjustments to the ledger for better readability for both text and information, 4. Building orientation no longer randomly changes for preview structure when you construct a building.
Adjustment:
1. Talent - The mud road is directly unlockable from the start without any additional conditions, and the unlock cost has been adjusted to 1 gold. 2. Adviser Yinyue cannot change jobs now, nor can be poached by other counties. If it was previously poached, Yinyue will also return to your side. If she was fired, she still leaves.
