- Fixed case where AI would give viking help misison during a viking raid
- Fixed some localization errors
- Fixed bug where you could use middle mouse eyedropper on the outpost
- Reduced viking catapult health
- Reduced frequency of AI diplomat visits a little bit
Kingdoms and Castles
Hotpatch - War & Diplomacy - version 119r2:
War & Diplomacy Update - Now available!
We’ve got another free update for you called War & Diplomacy! It expands upon the AI Kingdoms update a bit with your feedback and comments. New conversations, new diplomatic options, and more. Here’s the notes:
Conversation Expansion
New Conversation - Birthday - the AI will talk to you about their birthday, and you have the option or not to give a gift.
New Conversation - Theater Event - the AI has written a play and would love it if you’d show it in your theater. Let’s hope their work pleases the peasants!
New Conversation - Origins of Power - The AIs discuss how they came to power, different for each personality type. Some of these conversations can take a dramatic turn!
New Conversation - Broker Peace - If you are war long enough either your ally or a neutral AI may try to broker peace between you and your enemy. You can agree and end the war or disagree and see what might happen.
Ignore Response
The AIs will respond if you ignore or dismiss their diplomats. Depending on personality, how they feel about you, and how much you’re ignoring them they may decide to go to war against you.
Tribute
Player Tribute
When your diplomats visit an AI Kingdom you can now demand tribute from them if you’d like. The results of this demand will depend on their personality, relative military strength, mood, and if they can afford it.
Resolution for AI Demanding Tribute
If you refuse to pay tribute, go to war, then win and let AI stay in power they now show some deferrence to your grace. After being defeated in a war they acknowledge their defeat and will no longer demand tribute.
Warfare
We’ve made a few changes to improve the combat:
- Archers now fire from ships
- When stopped, catapults auto-attack military buildings if in range
- Increased catapult damage to non-stone buildings
- Increased catapult range by 1 tile
Viking Catapults
Vikings can now deploy catapults against you! Generally they appear later in the game. In harder difficulty modes more viking catapults will appear sooner.
Greek Fire Tower
We’ve added a new tower type that shoots out a blast of greek fire! It is extremely effective against ground units and ships - a fully skilled Greek Fire Tower can completely sink a ship with a single blast. However, it has some drawbacks. It requires 8 people to operate it, it has a very short range and can’t attack dragons. It also consumes charcoal when fired and takes a while to reload. If it catches on fire it has a chance to explode and start fires around it. Give it a try and be careful!
New Dragon Type
There’s a new dragon in town! This one flies more slowly than the others but specifically targets your military infrastructure (archer and ballista towers, blacksmiths, archer schools, etc). It appears a little later than the others, depending on difficulty mode.
Improvements and Fixes
- Added option to permanently decline an AI trying to abdicate
- Peasants now become unhappy if you betray an ally or treacherously surprise attack someone.
- Increased happiness radius of all 1x1 and 2x1 statues
- Fixed issue where sea gate pathing cost was wrong for vikings
- Fixed issue where you could build a happiness building and then close it but still get credit for happiness debuffs.
- Fixed issue where AI would immediately demand troop removal after you had defeated them in a war and spared them.
- Fixed bug where AI would demand payment to end a war after the war had already ended
- Fixed bug which caused archers to sort of ‘dance around’ when using auto targeting behavior
- Fixed case where AI would have trouble balancing tax rate vs happiness
- Fixed bug where AI would not build a theater
- Fixed bug where AI would build too many masons
What's next?
It's finally time, we've got VR coming up next! This is a free update, totally optional, and won't impact you at all if you don't want to play in VR. We're supporting the VIVE, Index, and Occulus Rift. Expect VR to hit the beta branch in the next week or so! And after VR we've more pure gameplay content updates planned as well.
Also, don't forget, we've got a Parks & Statues DLC available if you want to decorate your kingdom!
Until next time!
-Pete & Michael
War & Diplomacy - Update Beta Available
We've got the beta available for the next update - War & Diplomacy! We've got a sticky thread in the forums where there's a more detailed list of all the new changes that are ready for testing, but here's a little preview of just a few of the things you can look forward to:
New Dragon Type!
New Defense Type
And more!
Of course, we'll do our usual a big update post when the War & Diplomacy update is ready for final release, and that'll be on... September 22nd!
If you'd like, you can try it out now by switching to the beta branch (keep in mind there will be bugs and things to fix). Here's how:
- Right click on the game in the steam library
- Click properties, then choose betas
- Choose the next-version-preview branch
No code is necessary, your game should automatically update once you switch. Everyone who has been playing on the alpha branch will be kept up to date as well.
Please send your feedback and bug reports to contact@lionshieldstudios.com, chat with us directly in our discord, or post here in the forums!
-Pete, Michael, and Sam
Development Update
Hope you’ve all been enjoying the AI Kingdoms update (and the Steam Deck controls if you have one)! It's been fun to see folks interact with the AIs. We're now working on the next couple of updates, here's a little preview of the progress we're making:
VR
We have been working very hard to get the game playable in VR. This is our last crowdfunding campaign goal and it’s important to us to follow through on our word. This will also be a free update and completely optional. The game is now mostly playable in VR, but has some rough edges we’ll be working out before it's ready for beta testing.
AI Kingdoms - Diplomacy+
Thanks for all the feedback on the AI Kingdoms update! We’re preparing another update with a new conversations to expand your interactions with the AI as well as the ability for you, the player, to demand tribute if you’d like, and a bunch more things folks have asked for. We're also working on more optimizations. We should have this up on the next-version-preview branch soon for beta testing.
Note on Price
Over the last five years, we’ve improved the game significantly and added tons of new features and mechanics. So far we’ve done 11 big content updates, all completely free. On August 9th we're raising the price of the game to $14.99 (if you’ve already bought the game this has no impact on you). We feel this is still a great value but better represents all the work we’ve put in to the game over the years.
Until next time,
-Pete, Michael, & Sam
AI Kingdoms - Hotpatch 118r10
- Restore peasant rotation after being freed from vikings
- Fixed ogres damaging archers when attacking a tall tower
- Fixed extra gold being deducted when building an outpost from an exploration ship
- Fixed rare issue where you could get stuck in the feast diplomacy menu
- Fixed the church getting mad at you for using the witch if you didn't have any churches but the AI did
- Fixed being able to end a war without being able to afford it
- Fixed issue where towers with archer emplacements were collapsing too soon when damaged
-Pete
Thanks for all the bug reports! If you run into any issues, send us your save game. Saves are in %AppData%\..\LocalLow\LionShield\Kingdoms and Castles\Saves\, email to contact@lionshieldstudios.com
Steam Deck Support & Development Update
Steam Deck
We’ve added support for the Steam Deck to Kingdoms and Castles! We've worked hard to implement intuitive gamepad controls that make it easy to build and manage your kingdom and we've tweaked the UI to work well for the Deck's screen size. Note this doesn’t impact the PC/mouse experience at all - it’s just a little bonus. If you've got a Steam Deck, give it a try and let us know what you think!
Gamepad Controls
This also means general gamepads plugged into your computer will now work! The game can transition seemlessly between gamepad and keyboard/mouse. Just make sure to check on ‘Console Controls’ option in the game’s settings menu if you want to use a gamepad on the PC (note you don’t need to change this setting for the Steam Deck).
What's next?
Otherwise right now we’re hard at work on:
- Fixing bugs - you may have noticed a few small hotpatches over the past few weeks, more to come soon.
- New stuff for the AI Kingdoms based on your feedback so far (for example, getting that pesky aggressive AI to stop asking for tribute after defeating them in a war, and being able to demand tribute yourself).
- VR version of the game - this is well underway and feels really cool. We'll have some progress to show here soon.
Until next time,
- Pete, Michael, & Sam
Hotpatch 118r9a
- Fixed case where AI couldn't pick up an envoy if player island was walled off
AI Kingdoms Update - Now Available
We are very excited to announce the AI Kingdoms update is finally here! We've been working on this update for over a year and a half and it represents an huge amount of content. Here's a quick little trailer we whipped up:
We've not only added AI Kingdoms you can chat with, trade with, and fight but we've also improved the game in many other respects. There's so much we've added - this is going to be a long post - let's get to it!
AI Kingdoms
We've added AI Kingdoms that exist on the same map and essentially play by the same rules. You can establish relationships with them, engage in trade, and of course war.
Up to 3 AIs can play on your map at once. AIs are allowed to spawn on island maps with large enough islands.
You'll use diplomats from the hall of diplomacy to interact with the AI. Train a diplomat and use a transport ships to visit AI Kingdoms.
Once there you'll be able to discuss important things, make alliances, declare war, plea for peace, request help, and more. The AIs will also send diplomats of their own to talk with you. Depending on how you respond and interact with the AI their opinion of you will change.
The AIs use an advanced system to build their towns and defenses. They plan areas for residential and agricultural zones. They follow all the normal build rules the player does, construct wooden, then stone walls, and can even use aqueducts and reservoirs.
Visibility System
Alongside the AI Kingdoms we've implemented a visibility system. All units (diplomats, footmen, ships, etc) provide a sight radius. When you become allies with an AI you are granted full visibility into their kingdom.
Sea Gates
Now you can have protected harbors. Build a sea gate to block enemy ships from entering.
Siege Workshop and Catapult
In case things get a bit unfriendly between you and the AIs, you both will need a way to address those pesky walls. We've added a siege workshop which can create catapults. Load them on your transport ships to siege AI Kingdoms, but watch your gold - their wages are expensive.
Transport Carts
You can now build transport carts to transport resources between docks, granaries, butchers, fishmongers, and stockpiles. Now it's possible to solve those pesky transportation issues when you have large farming districts separated from residential zones.
New Happiness Buildings
We've also added a jousting arena and theater to entertain your peasants. We've also added a system where idle peasants will actually go and sit in the stands, visit gardens, taverns, and other kingdom attractions.
New Mechanic - Building Integrity
Over time buildings will start to degrade, you can check you building integrity in the bottom left UI. Clicking on it shows an overlay indicating which structures need repair. Build masons and they'll automatically get to work keeping your buildings safe and structurally sound.
Minimap
We've added a fully featured minimap that tracks unit positions, vikings, dragons, fires, and plagues. It can be moved and re-sized as you see fit. It also has the option to rotate to match your view, or to stay fixed and only rotate the camera view display.
Pretty Roads
Very special thanks to Jorge, creator of the the Pretty Roads mod. With his help we've integrated it into the game. Now double wide roads are possible and look great!
Exploration Ship and Settlers
This is now how to settle new islands. Once an island is settled and you want to get more people over there quicker, you can make settlers at your keep then load them into a transport ship. Unload them on the new island and click settle.
Survival Mode and new Statue
We've added a new much harder difficulty mode. In this mode, viking and dragon attacks are increased and resources are limited. If you can survive 250 years you'll unlock a new statue to use in any game mode thereafter.
Kingdom Colors
You can now change your kingdom color and banner both before you begin during banner select and at any time during gameplay by clicking on the keep and selecting the banner button.
Save Sharing
You can now share your save games with your friends. Upload your save to the cloud using the Kingdom share feature, then send the code to your friend. They can get a copy of your save from the cloud and play with it as they wish. Either click the share button in game up in the top right or click the share button from the main menu to try it out.
Optimizations
We've worked very hard to optimize the game given all the new stuff that's been added. In general, any map you had from before the update should run faster than before. Of course there's always more work to be done here and we'll be optimizing further in future updates.
Other Improvements
- Added beefier viking infantry unit
- Added ability for units to auto target enemies (change it by selecting a unit)
- Added better range indicator for ballista and archer tower
- Added ability for ogres to attack units
- Greatly improved localization
- Reworked ship movement so they don't block each other as much
- Improved building selection effect
- Increased world size a bit (about 15-20% more buildable tiles)
- Job categories can now be limited per category in the Job Priority Menu
- Added way to rate limit shipping routes
- Towers can be built higher without first removing the defenses on top
- Wood walls can be replaced with stone walls without demolishing them first
- Reduced costs of witch spells
- Double clicking a unit will select all units of that type in the camera view filtered by team
- Added a little visual effect on tile actions (chop, chop remove, demolish, rebuild)
- Added happiness buffs for defeating enemy troops, and debuffs for combat deaths
- Improved blacksmith resource gathering
- Added way to remove witch with army (for a cost)
- Great halls can be used to throw a public feast
- Added grid that appears in build mode
- Added options for choosing whether maps generate with rivers
- Much better support for ultrawide resolutions
- Revamp UI visuals to be more clear and easier to read
Fixes
- Fixed issue where workers could loop resources between granary, dock, and produce storage
- Fixed game speed getting reset on entering certain UIs
- Fixed crash on start if you had Citrix Workspace installed
- Fixed hazard pay not being reflected in gold info
- Fixed rare issue where using the creative mode delete brush could cause a hang
- Fixed some resource counting issues in the UI
- Tons of other small fixes
Whew! Thank you so much for your patience and we hope you really enjoy this update! We'll be working next to fix any bugs or issue you run into, VR support, Steam Deck support, and to further improve the game.
Until next time,
-Pete, Michael, Sam
AI Kingdoms Update will be released May 23rd!
Quick but exciting announcement today. We're doing some final bug fixing on the AI Kingdoms update and it will be released on May 23rd! Thanks so much to everyone who has provided feedback and bug reports as we've worked on this behemoth update.
Here's a little teaser trailer:
Of course, you can always try it out early if you just can't wait any longer by switching to the next-version-preview branch on steam.
We're so excited to finally have a release date! Thanks so much for your patience.
-Pete, Michael, & Sam
AI Kingdoms - Beta Available
We are very excited to announce the AI Kingdoms update is now in open beta! The update isn't done yet, but it's a big step forward towards final release. We've been previewing the new features in previous posts and we'll do a bigger post with lots of images for final release, but here's a quick list of the big features to look for in the beta:
- AI Kingdoms you can add when starting a new game
- Talk, trade, or fight with these AI kingdoms
- Hall of Diplomacy where you can make diplomats used to interact with the AI Kingdoms
- Fog of war system
- Siege Workshop which builds Catapults
- New harder 'Survive 250' game mode
- Theater and Jousting Arena
- Transport carts
- Minimap
- Ability to set maximum workers per job category
- Lots of other various improvements
Because this is beta there will still be bugs and things to improve and fix. Please send your feedback and bug reports to contact@lionshieldstudios.com, chat with us directly in our discord, or post here in the forums.
You can try it now out by switching to the beta branch. Here's how:
- Right click on the game in the steam library
- Click properties, then choose betas
- Choose the next-version-preview branch
No code is necessary, your game should automatically update once you switch. Everyone who has been playing on the alpha branch will be kept up to date as well.
Until next time,
-Pete, Michael, & Sam