Medieval Kingdom Wars
Future Updates and Improvements
It`s time to reveal more about upcoming Update 17, and to share our plans for continuing updating MKW in 2019 and 2020.
As September sale showed there`s still plenty of interest in MKW, and we are happy to continue updating the game for the rest of this year and into the next year. Over the next few months our focus will be on improving graphics, performance and combat with a lot of work planned on our in-house game engine. Same time we will be expanding the world map gameplay with additional features. World Map and combat AI will also see a lot of improvements.
However we do have to adjust our plans when it comes to adding major planned features - like CoOp campaign and World Map expansion. Our biggest regret is not working on these two massive updates earlier in the development, as now player population to support CoOp campaign is simply not there. CoOp campaign was always planned not really as a CoOp, but more of an MMO experience similar to the original Kingdom Wars, and this formula just doesn`t work with less than 50 players online at once. And with regard to the world map expansions - it`s clear that majority of MKW players would rather see improvements in other areas of the game - from AI and more campaign features to performance and graphics.
With that said - hope is not lost - as it would make sense to have these large futures in a sequel to MKW. We don`t have the details yet, but hope to have an announcement on this later on this year.
Update 17 Preview
With our 15th and 16th updates we started to improve appearance of the game world, as seen through the ground view camera. Our major goal with the next update is to complete this major upgrade - with more flexibility in the camera angle, better graphics in the ground view and fixes to the performance and camera scrolling.
Another major area of focus is improving the look of combat up-close - that involves characters actually fighting each other and not just swinging the swords.
And of-course - performance. There will be some minor sacrifices to the scale and graphics to improve performance, and a lot of optimization - but the end result will be worth it.
Finally - we also continue to expand campaign gameplay - up next - letting players issues commands to AI during battle - like attack here, defend this location e.t.c
Stars End
As some of you might know, we have another project going into Early Access now - Stars End, and while the team working on it is separate from MKW team - there will be a bit of a delay before we can release out 17th update - looking for early November.
To preempt possible complaints about working on another game - Stars End is designed by separate two developers, using completely different engine and completely independent from the two developers working on MKW. But since Stars End is launching soon, it would take all of our team couple of extra weeks to help out there with launch - thus the delay.
We hope that you can see Stars End Early Access launch from our point of view - the sales from Stars End will help us put more work into the Kingdom Wars games, perhaps even help to expand the MKW development team.
Thanks again for your support, and looking forward to bringing your Update 17 in a few weeks.
Update 1.16 - Modding Support, Demands and Extortion
We have another great update for you today. While this update comes with a short list of new features and changes, it really changes up how the game is played.
To start things off - the games engine and assets are now fully open for modding. All the game files are now open access, and can be found inside Modding folder in the Steam installation folder. More details for Modders will follow.
Following last week`s update - we continued to expand the new ways to interact with AI Lords - this week adding ability to take towns from them, or to extort a bit of a silver. These features are available when you become King, and really help in mid to late game, especially once you start using your Lords to wage wars for you.
We have also rebalanced the game quite a bit based on recent player feedback - it`s now much easier to manage income, upkeep and happiness, giving you more time to deal with the AI. AI difficulty has been increased, but now player has new tools to deal with it by getting friendly AI lords to help.
We will have a small follow up update in a day or two, that will greatly improve the ground view camera - both visually, and how the camera moves.
P.S. MKW is now 60% off on a two week sale - great time to join in!
Major New Features
- All game files opened up for Modding and Total Conversions. Located in the Modding folder
- Demand Town feature added - Kings can demand land from their Lords
- Extort Silver feature added - Kings can extort silver from their Lords
- Total Rebalance of the game - from micro managing expenses to fighting more
Fixes and Balancing
- AI Lords now hold a treasury which is displayed in the Chancellor window
- Campaign AI difficulty increased in the first couple of years of the campaign on Medium and Hard difficulty
- Main Menu redesigned with distance fog and other effects
- Reduced upkeep of all units and buildings by about 30-35%
- Reduced Happiness drain of industrial buildings by 20-30%
- Increased Income from buildings by up to 20%
- Peasants now bring small income when in towns
- Slower zoom in/out speed with epic camera
Update 1.15 - Ground Camera & AI Lords Controls
Hey Everyone,
We are happy to present 15th post-release update! With this update we have addressed one of the top player requests - a ground view camera. Now you can view the action in all it`s low-poly glory up-close and personal, with the sky, mountains and so on. Keep in mind it is performance intensive and only works with Epic camera settings (and not in Tutorial)
Next big feature is being able to control AI lords on the world map. Both as a minor Lord, and as a King you are able to place Rally Points on the World Map with Right Mouse Button. With time AI Lords will send armies to these locations to either defend or attack. With larger Kingdoms, especially if you are King, it`s possible to stage large coordinated invasions of enemy Kingdoms.
The Chancellor window now has Stances feature for AI Lords - this option is only available if your King. Here you decide what you want your Lords to do - build up, do their own thing, or create armies to await your orders.
In addition we have put a lot of work into combat - from pathfinding, to archers hitting moving targets to better tasking flags, fixing a lot of unit movement bugs and so much more.
Also by popular demand we relaxed the game rules a bit, and you can stay in town view mode a lot longer now.
Outdated Game Version Message
In case you get a message in the main menu about Outdated Game Version, you need to restart Steam to download the update. If that doesn`t work please follow these steps:
-Right click on Medieval Kingdom Wars in your Steam library, and select Properties
-Switch to Updates tab, and select - Always keep this game up to date
-Wait a minute, or if game didn`t update, restart steam (completely shut it down and start it again)
And so presenting Update 1.5
But please a keep in mind - with update of this magnitude we are expecting some new bugs to pop-up, especially when it comes to Ground Camera performance, and the new Lord Rally Point controls. We also plan to add ability to get AI Lords to give you their towns. We expect everything to be nicely polished by Tuesday
Major New Features
- Added Ground View camera available on Max Camera Settings
- Added distance fog visible in cinematics and with the ground view camera
- Added Stances for AI Lords when player is King -
- Added Rally Flag placed with RMB on the world map
- AI Lords will attack or defend on the world map based on players Rally Flags placed
Major Additions & Improvements
- Ranged units can now hit moving enemies by predicting their location before shooting
- Fixed issue with tasking a number of battalions and some not moving
- Major improvements to tasking battalions on the busy terrain - towns and mountains
- When tasked battalions now show correct tasking flags in proper positions
- Fixed a number of rare startup issues with the game
- Improvements with ranged and siege units targeting enemy units
Fixes and Balancing
- Greatly reduced happiness drain while managing towns campaign - by 40%
Update 15 days away!
Hey Everyone,
It has been a while since our last update, but I`m glad to say we are finally very close and plan to release Update 15 next week.
Update includes wide range of new features, really changing both the visuals and campaign gameplay.
First we are adding ground view camera both for the worldmap and battles. So you`ll be able to zoom in close and see the sky, mountains, and everything else from the ground.
The big campaign upgrades allow you assigning tasks to your Lords, once your King. Such as telling lords to just build up armies and wait, do their own thing, or concentrate on building up their towns.
In addition there`s now a rally point system where you can tell your Lords (or Kings Lords) to perform various actions on the world map - like defend this town, or attack this area. This helps coordinate attacks with other Lords, and especially useful to staging large military campaigns when you are King.
Update 15 also features a lot of pathfinding and combat changes. From things like archers being able to hit moving targets by anticipating their location, to better unit movement, new rally flag system and so much more!
Also we are planning a sale event later in September, that should help bring some new players into the game, and get chat lively again.
Looking forward to releasing this major update next week!
Epic 60% off sale & Upcoming Update 15
Hey Everyone,
Some good news - following the launch of KW2 Definitive Edition (the big free update to our old game), we are back to working on MKW full speed, with update 15 coming your way later this month. We can`t wait to share new awesome features with you, that will really advance the gameplay.
Meanwhile we are holding our biggest sale for MKW, with 60% off discount. It`s time to introduce the game to new players, and well - it`s just been a good summer, so we figured why not go big with this discount.
Myself and other guys from the team will be spending quite a bit of time in the in-game chat and our forums this week, so if you have any questions or suggestions, we`ll be glad to chat!
See you on the battlefield.
Update 1.14 - Better Visuals and Pathfinding
Hey Everyone,
We hope everyone`s enjoying their summer, and in case you decide to spend some time with MKW this weekend, there`s a nice new update ready - full of pleasant surprises.
As you might have heard, our team is busy working on another project - KW2DE - rework of our earlier game, that we are releasing for free for the players of the original. This is adding a bit of a delay to our MKW updates, but we are still on track. And you can expect a major update 1.15 in July that will finally include controlling AI lords, and giving AI orders in battle.
Meanwhile we wanted to update the visual fidelity of MKW, as well as iron out some issues in pathfinding and combat, and after few weeks of work on our game engine, we are finally ready to release this small, but sweet update.
And so presenting Update 1.4
-Visual Update - added Anisotropic filtering - on by default
-Visual Update - added Anti Aliasing filters - MSAA 2x,4x, 8x
-Visual Update - various minor improvements and post-processing tweaks
-Updated options menu layout to implement new visual options
-Major pathfinding update when tasking a large number of units
-Fixed pathfinding issue with units ignoring orders to move
-Fixed pathfinding issue with only some battalions moving while others don`t
-Pathfinding improvements to tasking units across the map and in combat
-Pathfinding improvements to tasking a large number of battalions into a tight space
-Units form up on the wall on most levels (other than hamlets) much better
-Fixed units positioned on walls, sometimes standing on the ground
-Fixed Garrison Commander Achievement
A word of a warning, for most players we recommend using Anti Aliasing filter set to 2x or at most 4x. 8x only make sense on more advanced video card like 1070+
Updates schedule for June and July
Hey Everyone,
Just some quick info regarding the upcoming updates - and a preview of next week`s update 1.14...
But first - we have to apologize for the delays... As you might have heard we are working on launching Kingdom Wars 2: Definitive Edition - a total rework of our previous game, that we are releasing for free for our players who purchased original KW2B. You can find out more about it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1036440/Kingdom_Wars_2_Definitive_Edition/
Unfortunately this launch is delaying work on the upcoming update 1.14 for MKW. We hope you can forgive us, we always want to do right by our players, and with a team of our size there are sometimes delays due to numerous projects and updates.
However, we really don`t want you waiting for a month for the next big update - so what we`ll do is release a mini-update 1.14 sometime next week. It will not include all the cool gameplay features like controlling lords and giving AI orders in battle... as we will have to push forward these additions for the big update 1.15. You can expect 1.15 later on in July.
With that said, you can expect some pretty cool things in this mini update 1.14 next week:
-Major visual update for our game engine - anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, post-processing e.t.c
-Major pathfinding engine update - makes tasking and controlling units in combat much easier, and solves problems like units sometimes ignoring orders
-Couple of minor fixes here and there
Thanks for your patience, and your continuing support!
Big 40% sale & New Update 13
Hey Everyone,
We are very excited to bring you the long awaited update 1.13. In the recent poll - our players indicated that better performance is the top priority, and so we got to work... Over the past month we went through the entire game code line by line. Results have surpassed our expectations - but we`ll let you experience it for yourself.
But first some more good news - sale is here!
The Big MKW sale
And it`s time for the biggest sale on MKW we had after release. At 40% off, and plenty of post-release polish and new content, it`s a great time to join the game. This is the best deal on the game for the next few months, so if you were waiting for a good opportunity to get the game - this is it.
Update 1.13
On average the frame-rate should nearly double for majority of players, and large battles should play out smoothly.
This update also includes couple of cool features - like sharing line of sight with your Kingdom and Allies, as well as greatly improved World Map AI, with higher intensity, and introduction of long range expeditions by AI.
And please keep in mind that with update of this magnitude there might be some issues - but we`ll be sure to hot fix anything reported asap.
We are also looking forward to releasing massive update 1.14 later this month - being able to control AI lords both on the world map and in battles is a true game changer.
And so presenting Update 1.13
PERFORMANCE AND OPTIMIZATION
- Major revision of the game code line by line to improve performance
- Major visual performance boost for low end systems - average from 20 FPS to 40 FPS
- Major visual performance boost for mid and high-end systems - average from 45 FPS to 70 FPS
- Major combat performance boost in all situations
- World Map visual performance increased - with FPS nearly doubled
- Resolved major lag issue in large town battles
- Fixed game stopping lag issue during very large battles in all scenarios
- Fixed visual lag when selecting large number of units
- Significant performance boost in all situations across the board
- 20% latency decrease in multiplayer games
- Fixed common lag spikes when playing on the world map
- Animations are smoother, and a little bit slower for better presentation
- Fixed game stopping lag spike when attacking through the gates and other choke-points
MAJOR CHANGES AND ADDITIONS
- World map fog of war is revealed by your Kingdom and Allied nations
- Complete rewrite of the World Map AI
- World Map AI is a lot smarter, plans it`s attacks better, and does more long range expeditions
FIXES AND ADDITIONS
- World map on lowest settings now looks correct without missing trees, rocks and other objects
- Units now look good during cinematics even on lowest model quality settings
- Units now properly line up on walls in large town and other scenarios
- Removed outdated Cant Move Mouse message on the first run of the game
- Tasking multiple rams on a gate now only tasks one of them
- Army strength indicator updates right away after adding or healing units.
- Fixed world map army overlay jumping up and down when moving on the world map
BALANCING
- Unit movement speed, building construction, and economy is nearly 20% faster on lower game speeds
DOWNGRADES AND COMPROMISES
- Reduced number of units in battalions by 15%
- Quality of units on highest settings slightly decreased
- Reduced fog effect and clouds on the world map
- Slight downgrade to the look of the fog effect
- Some effects like fire and smoke are a little bit slower
- Small downgrade to the quality of trees on the world map
- Text on unit GUI portraits doesn`t have a shadow and slightly harder to read
Poll Results and Upcoming Update 1.13
Hey Everyone,
Last month we started a new in-game poll, asking You to decide what you want the team to work on. And the results are in! Hundreds of players have cast their votes in-game and our plan for May and June is now set.
Requests for performance improvements overwhelmingly came on top with several hundred votes.
So it`s set - for the next several weeks we`ll be going through the game code line by line to boost performance as much as possible, especially in large battles. There might be do some minor sacrifices - like reducing number of terrain objects on the world map, and cutting number of units in battalions by a third. All in all - we expect solid results.
The second place in the poll was given to controlling AI lords, and we are working on this right now - with a lot of these elements making it into update 1.13, and more to follow. From shared views, to maintaining good relations with individual lords to be able to issue them commands on the world map. You will also be able to give commands to AI lords on the battlefield.
Thanks again for voting and your feedback! And we hope to bring you massive update 1.13 towards the end of next week.
New Poll & Upcoming Updates
Hey Everyone,
Thanks to your votes in the last poll – we got really needed feedback and heard you load and clear. New features like unit overlay GUI are now in-game. It`s time for a new poll...
For these of you just joining us - we have a voting poll right in the main menu, where our players decide what the team works on...
With over a dozen massive updates since release - MKW is starting to mature, and the number of players spending 50 and even 100 hours with the game have greatly increased. Perhaps it`s time to start adding major new features? However - there are still some performance issues affecting a number of players - especially in the large battles. So what should it be?
We can work on new awesome diplomacy features, giving orders to AI lords, starting work on Coop or working on the game world - adding forests, deserts and more. To see all the projects, we have planned for 2019 please click the button above.
Voting options this week are:
- Major performance improvements, especially big town sieges
- Terrain variations for maps and towns - deserts, forests etc
- Giving direct orders to AI Lords and AI Armies on the map
- Relations with AI lords - friends, betrayals, revolts
- Major world map GUI improvements - transfer window, walls etc.
- Forget everything - only work on Coop!
You can find the full list of planned projects on our roadmap here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/499660/discussions/0/1843566500534219066/
Thanks for your support!
P.S. Please keep in mind that we are just became aware of a couple of rare but annoying bugs in the current build - like rare missing units and some issues selecting armies, we should have this resolved asap.