Q&A Part 5 – Mansions, Muskets, and Character Customization
Hello everyone!
Almost three weeks ago we announced the continuation of the Q&A and just like last time, you delivered! We can see that you care about the game and that you want to know a lot about it. We've gathered quite a few questions here on Steam and on social media from you, so thank you very much for that!
Hopefully we were able to answer a few questions with update 0.1.3.0 (markers and zoom). Of course, we are still working on the game and besides the fixes and quality of live improvements we are also preparing content and performance updates that will be released in the upcoming weeks and months. We will also be introducing the Public Stage to Sengoku Dynasty, which will move the "testing" of new content etc. to a second branch. More on this shortly.
But we digress.
So today is the next round of questions and we'll get started right away: As we chart our course through the captivating landscapes of the Sengoku era, we're thrilled to share a glimpse of our envisioned future for the game - based on your questions.
Imagine sprawling mansions reflecting the pinnacle of luxury, alongside intricate character customizations that let you immerse in Japan's rich sartorial history. Yet, amid the tranquility and artistry, the first whispers of gunpowder promise a seismic shift in gameplay dynamics. Join us as we answer your questions showing the glimpse of a future where architectural splendor meets impending firepower.
Will there be muskets?
This is one of the most common questions on forums and discord. Given that we are making a realistic game taking place during the Sengoku period, we are considering all types of weapons that were used back then, with muskets being very high on our to-do list. You will have to wait till the combat update though!
You mentioned character customization on the co-op video. Will this be for single player as well?
When it comes to the starting clothes for player characters, it is something that we plan for co-op only, as it will simply differentiate players. All other customization options (starting specialization, clothes, etc.) are going to work exactly the same in single player and in multiplayer.
How much depth is planned for the skill tree?
Four skill trees are planned right now, each will contain a few dozen perks. We want you to be able to roleplay different kinds of archetypes and we want to do it right, so it will take more time.
Will there be building opportunities for estates?
Yes, there will be a possibility for a player to build an estate. It is quite possible we will make it modular so you will be able to choose its shape. For the smaller buildings we wanted to adhere to the historical standards, thus we made them prefabricated, so your villages can look as authentic as possible.
Why do the townsfolk idle instead of collecting things?
For your workers to use their tools or interact with the workplace furniture, you need to increase their production above zero. We have also introduced some AI fixes that should help villagers behave more naturally, and according to their occupation. When it comes to certain workplaces, mainly those which rely on harvesting raw resources, we are still working on AI.
Will it be possible to make the jobs already taken either in a different color or have it in another section above or below?
We plan to add sorting, grouping and filtering to all UI lists where it would make sense and improve the usability.
Can we hope for a different start in the future? Something different than what we have seen in the EA.
Yes, we plan both starting specialties for a player character, as well as different starting locations. We need to implement more character skills so they can truly give you different gameplay experience. It won’t affect the story, but your gameplay, having different skills and items available at the start of the playthrough.
Will you change the way NPCs gather and make it more like in Medieval Dynasty? Now the way they work seasonally makes it feel like a dead village.
Villager behavior is not affected by the seasonal production logic. Villagers are going to perform work activities and villages are going to look alive - we are constantly trying to improve their AI, add more animations, and streamline the management system. There were some bugs that resulted in NPCs not doing their animations. We will be constantly investing time into making the villages look busy and lively.
Will any deployable road (stone or mud one) be added in the future?
Yes, we plan to add a way for a player to build a lot of structures that can extend, like fences, walls, and roads.
Will there be Steam Achievements?
Yes, when we are happy with all the mechanics that are still pending implementation, we are going to introduce Achievements so that you can explore them all.
Zoom In on Update 3: New Map Features, Fast Travel, and More!
Big thanks for all the feedback you've been sending our way! The list of updates is long, so let's take a quick look at the highlights:
Map This was probably the most common request. New map features—like zooming, panning, and custom markers—should help keep you on track! There are still things about the Map UI that we want to improve in the future, but we think this is a solid start.
Fast Travel You can now use Fast Travel between all discovered Bell Towers, both in your villages and in NPC villages. Yet another reason to gather those bells (and keep your purse full of coins)! There will be more (non-Bell related) Fast Travels spots in the future.
Pause The game will now pause when you open the in-game menu in single-player mode. Perfect for when you want to prepare yourself another green tea.
These are just three out of dozens of improvements we have made in the past two weeks – and we don’t intend to slow down. For us, Early Access launch was just the start of a new phase in development, one that we're excited to undertake with your feedback, so please keep it coming! We're giving it our all—working on quick bug fixes and quality of life improvements, and at the same time laying the groundwork for major updates coming this year. Hope you’ll follow us along the way!
Superkami and Toplitz Productions teams
Patch notes (Version 0.1.3.0)
FIXES
Fixed village icons not saved and not replicated to clients.
Fixed left arrow set as default for “move right” in default key bindings (you need to reset controls for the fix to take effect).
Fixed Fisherman’s Hut and Mining Post retroactive unlock not working for 0.1.1.0 saves. You will now unlock both structures upon completing any “Talk to Abbot” quest objective (after reaching Dynasty level 7, 14 or 21) or by talking to abbot Joen at any point after reaching LVL 21.
Fixed ESC key acting as a confirmation button in Open Main Menu and Quit Game pop-ups.
Fixed custom key bindings not applied on the game start.
Fixed “Thank you” cutscene causing loss of focus in the Abbot dialogue.
Fixed some minor calculation errors in Dynasty Management.
Fixed NPCs rarely interact with buildings and workplaces (they will now act more naturally and do things like sweeping the floor).
Fixed villagers assigned to a workplace performing home routine instead of work routine after loading save.
Fixed NPC sliding on the ground when idle.
Fixed torch being rotated when held.
Fixed boar combat behaviour - now they will not stop to munch on grass when chasing you.
Fixed entrance limit check for some specific cases.
Fixed workplaces decreasing freshness of consumables.
Fixed defensive fence models.
Fixed renaming village on clients not working/saving.
Fixed closing pop-up in Main Menu.
Fixed navigation after closing the tutorial and showing another widget.
Fixed closing tutorial screen when inventory is open.
Fixed furniture and containers loading previously saved inventory in that location when building a new one – no more item duplication this way.
Fixed missing Special Project Completed marker in a Small Bridge near Segi.
Fixed missing localization in the network loading screen.
Fixed missing Iwasaki shrine.
Fixed red flowers not disappearing under buildings.
Fixed missing dying SFX for bandits.
Fixed Sayuri not having a job specialisation icon (only for fresh games).
Fixed missing window frame in the Mining Station Special Project model.
Fixed player mantling on the Watchtower Special Project railing.
Fixed some flying rocks.
Fixed crow nest appearing on a bridge.
Fixed the inability to move items to quick slots.
Fixed ranged spear throwing attack dealing less damage than it should.
UI
Added a Pause in the in-game menu for single-player games.
Implemented a Fast Travel – use a Bell Tower and pay a small fee to teleport.
Added Quick Slot Menu hint to holdable and empty hands – just a friendly reminder that you can bring up quick slots with a middle mouse button.
Implemented major Map improvements like zooming, panning, and custom markers.
Added "Creating server..." dialogue after clicking "Create Server".
Increased other player & player village marker visibility distance on the compass for easier navigation.
Added new icons: building and recipe menu categories, village structures, exterior segments, and more.
Improved icons: watering bucket, rot, elevation (in compass).
Simplified Season Change tutorial.
Added inventory shortcuts:
Shift + LMB” – Transfers the stack to the external container or sells as much of the stack as possible to a trader inventory.
Ctrl + LMB – Splits the stack in half if there are empty slots in the inventory.
Alt + LMB – Splits the stack to create a new stack with a single item.
SETUP/BALANCE
Localization update for KO, PL, PT, RU, UKR
Reworked villager needs -- rescaled how needs progress and lowered the needs for larger populations.
Reworked how Well and water production works - it is much easier now to meet the water needs of your villagers.
Added medium trees that behave like small trees but provide more resources.
Made bandits and boars more dangerous by not slowing down after taking some hits – boars are now faster, so watch out.
Workplace production recipe costs are lowered for many items.
Adjusted the price for some Special Projects.
Increased the max stack of some items.
Improved the Water Storage and Smithy mandatory furniture setup.
Made it easier to build Beggar's Huts 2 & 3, Water Storage, Composting Station, Food Storage, Temporary Tawara containers, Special Project Workshop.
Made hay insulation part of the roof stage for the Water Storage building so that the furniture cannot be accessed before finishing the roof.
Reduced the price of the straw cloak – sorry, no more money farming this way.
Added interaction with a standalone Japanese red pine tree stump – now you can clear the area near Segi for example.
Moved Guard Tower to Service Buildings
Added Charcoal Kiln as a standalone village structure.
3D/MAP
Improved Empty Entrance and Ramp Entrance exterior segments – should be less confusing now and look better when the hammer is equipped.
Added new construction blockers on the map: Burned Mansion (coming soon), Chiime House, Enjiro, Hunting Camp, Rice Fields, Segi Impure Camp, Sukejiro Camp, and Yajiro Camp – if you have had structures in those areas, you should be able to move them away, as you will not be able to build anything new there.
Improved construction blockers for Taro Camp, Teimatsu Camp, Miko House, and Starting Area.
Added more Small Iron Deposits in the Iwasaki mine.
Adjusted the invisible wall in the ocean to be more precise and closer to the shore.
Improved lake bottom floor height.
Removed obsolete Beggar's Hut near the Sosogi Inari Shrine.
The Ryujin shrine special project now should also build stone stairs and place a gohei wand on the shrine – the stone stairs should be removed if you haven’t completed the project yet.
ANIMATION/CHARACTERS
Improved villager and beggar behaviour.
Villagers can interact with more structures.
Added animal alerted and flight animations.
Adjusted the reaction transition cooldown on fox and boar.
Implement male bandit aggro animations.
Assigned a different animation to Nijo.
Tweaked fox movement speed.
Improved NPC pathfinding.
TECH/TECHART
Some NPC optimizations.
Some UI texture optimizations.
Set network timeout to 120s.
Optimised net code replication to prevent disconnecting players on change of season.
SFX
Added new boar SFXs (Roam, Search, Aggro).
Adjusted animal SFX radius
Adjusted Effort SFX for bandits and players when taking damage.
Improved environment SFX for forests, hot springs, birds, animals, ocean.
Play Sengoku Dynasty at Gamescom 2023
Take a glimpse at ancient Japan and experience the Nata valleys’ beauty. Visit the war-torn provinces of the Sengoku era and start rebuilding the country!
Get HANDS-ON with the game and witness the next step of life-simulation right before your eyes.
Date: 24.08-27.08
Location: Home of Indies booth in Hall 10.1 - Block 4, E018g D019g
This is your chance to experience the gameplay of Sengoku Dynasty. Build, craft and survive in a land that strives for better times! Let's usher in a new gaming era together and make Gamescom 2023 a memorable experience.
Pin a kōgai in your calendar, gather your friends, and join us at the Home of Indies booth in Hall 10.1 - Block 4, E018g D019g, for an unmissable adventure.
See you at gamescom 2023!
Sengoku Dynasty Insider Video #8 – Buildings
In Sengoku Dynasty, the power to create beautiful, aesthetically pleasing villages lies in your hands. Drawing inspiration from the rich history of feudal Japan, the team conducted extensive research to recreate the architecture and ambiance of this extraordinary era authentically. Customize every aspect of your settlement, from simple dwellings to more complex structures, and watch as your creation comes alive with charm and authenticity.
Update 0.1.2.0
FIXES
Fixed player losing control over character when crafting on cooking pot.
Fixed unlimited ashigaru armor exploit in Secrets of Trade quest
Fixed items disappearing from map on loading saved game (affected loot, dropped items and others). Unfortunately, these items will not reappear if you saved the game when they were already gone.
Fixed excessive foliage issue near the central lake
Fixed motion blur activating at night.
Fixed trade amount resetting when confirming with keyboard/gamepad after mouse use.
Fixed steel hammer recipe icon showing iron hammer.
Fixed menu button icons in load game menu.
Fixed last button being focused on the dialogue, now the first one will be selected by default.
Fixed dialogue navigation button error.
Fixed build version becoming visible after pressing F10 (which is the “hide HUD” button. Feel free to use F10 to take some nice screenshots.
Fixed loss of focus when closing error pop-up in main menu with controller.
Fixed deer IKs – they should be walking more naturally now.
Fixed duplicate sound on opening dynasty tab.
Fixed headwear showing if equipped in FPP.
Fixed loss of focus after closing the Choose Amount UI.
Fixed some untranslated UI text.
3D/MAP
Updated mansion’s second building and corridor.
Updated hunter’s hut tower ramp, and improved the ghost placement setup, as now the ramp is longer.
Change the taiko drum model and textures.
Change nameplates models, pivot, and textures.
ANIMATION/CHARACTERS
Improved hats and hairstyles for some NPCs.
Update male refugee torso skin.
Adjust NPC sitting on benches.
BALANCE/SETUP
Spanish localization update.
Campfire with the Cooking Pot will now remove grass when built.
Advanced cooking recipes do not require sticks or stones anymore to cook meat, eggs, or fish.
Improved exterior segment setup in Small House and Forager's Hut.
Added a second mandatory bed to the Standard House, and two more mandatory beds to a Large House – we are aware that the descriptions still mention that those buildings house fewer people, we will improve them.
Boar takes 4 hits now to kill the player (from full HP).
Improved Fences placement – it should now be considerably easier to place fences and walls on steeper slopes, but there is still room for improvement.
Improving Hunter's Hut ghost placement, as the tower ramp is now longer.
TECH/TECHART
Set motion blur to 0 in the night post-process.
Improved roofs to not obscure the TPP camera when inside a structure.
Save files can be moved without the metadata file – so it’s easier to share your game.
SFX
Loudness and mix adjustments.
Improve Environment SFX.
UI
Villager efficiency bonuses and penalties increased – each time you fail to meet a need you get a penalty to worker effectiveness for the next season. Each time you fulfill a larger need, you get a bonus for a worker effectiveness for the next season.
Sleeping interaction (Tents, Buildings) now requires holding the button – we just wanted to make sure you will not accidentally go to sleep.
Added color to mouse icons and added a scroll wheel icon.
Added droplet of water to the water bottle icon.
Increase Quick Slots text size box.
A new Q&A round starts!
Youkoso!
Now with Sengoku Dynasty out in Early Access for a few days, we feel we should start another round of Questions and Answers. Have a question about the game? Then post it under this news. We collect questions until the end of month (31 August 2023), select a variety and have them answered in the weeks to come after!
Thank you for your feedback! This is our first proper patch, with many fixes, small additions, and rebalances. We hope these changes will make your game more enjoyable in waiting for much requested bigger balance changes and new features!
FIXES
Fixed Ryujin Wrath quest not completing.
Fixed the dialogue UI losing focus on a forced season change.
Fixed multiple localization issues.
Fixed colourful light glitches on lower resolutions.
Fixed issues with NPCs blocking entrances and getting stuck in walls and rocks – it should now occur less often.
Fixed the unique refugee (Ako, Sayuri) quest failing after a season change. If you have this problem in your save, you should be able to reactivate the quest by talking with Ako.
Fixed Water Storage building providing Ice Storage for the village.
Fixed the decay of consumable items in the player’s inventory – watch out, your food might now rot. Note that food decays at different paces in your inventory and on a season change.
Fixed equipping clothes straight from a trader’s inventory – no more thefts.
Fixed holdable light sources not being replenished automatically on depletion – if your torch runs out and you have another one in your inventory, it will be automatically replenished like other holdables. Currently the replacement feature puts the holdable into a first empty slot – this will be improved to use the same slot.
Fixed special projects not replicating correctly to clients – those bothersome ropes and columns should not disappear before completion.
Fixed not being able to skip the special project completion cutscene – note that for now we only have cutscenes for Small Bridges and Watchtowers.
Fixed pressing the “E”-key executing moused-over actions in the main menu – if you wanted to press E in the main menu, you may need to move your mouse away from that button, or just use a mouse.
Fixed Blacksmith’s Anvil furniture replication.
Fixed menu music not responding to the volume slider.
Fixed the Season Change Summary UI widget opening after a cutscene.
Fixed the Kannon statue collision.
Fixed the Discord button being highlighted by default when starting the game.
Fixed freezing routines by teleported NPCs.
Fixed grass appearing inside a Shed structure.
Fixed Geta shoes crafting resulting in Fukagutsu.
Fixed the Special Project Construction Workshop placement near the Small Bridge next to the future Aratani village – you should now be able to build it on the eastern side of the stream.
3D/MAP
Added camera and movement blocker for the big lake in the middle of the map.
Updated the ocean bounds NavModifiers.
More animals should now appear on the map - beware of boars!
ANIMATION/CHARACTERS
Updated animations for sitting on benches.
Small visual edits in the Nijo cutscene.
The Shovel should now be easier to use.
Automatically equipping the last used holdable when pressing the interaction button will now work only on a gamepad and not when using a mouse.
BALANCE/SETUP
Some recipe unlocks will now happen sooner – for example, a Cooking Pot recipe should now be available at Dynasty Level 7, along with the Standard House. If you have already gained level 7 unlocks, worry not, the recipe will unlock for you at level 14, so there is no way to “skip” the unlock (we hope).
Major Villager Needs overhaul – needs were rebalanced to provide smoother gameplay from the start. Beverage needs will now appear with the third villager, and the need progression has been rescaled, so it will take more time to reach full levels.
Major tools durability improvement – enjoy much sturdier tools, the higher the tier, the bigger the difference. This does not apply to already crafted tools.
Added or improved exterior segments in Forager's Hut, Fisherman's Hut, Tailor Workshop, and Wood Storage buildings to include ramps. Ramp Entrances will now cost only bamboo. Note that if you already have built buildings that didn’t have those exterior segments, like Wood Storage or Forager’s Hut, the ramps will not appear. To get ramps you would need to build those buildings from scratch.
Improved Wall Banner decoration set up so that it can be hung only on walls and not on columns (it’s a WALL banner after all)
Made Woodworker's Table a mandatory furniture in the Woodcutter's Hut – should help if you wondered where to craft a bucket. You would need to build a new Woodcutter’s Hut to notice the change.
Made the Sakura tree non-cuttable for now, as it lacks proper visuals.
The player now gets an Ashigaru Hat as an additional reward in the Secrets of the Trade quest – so a full Ashigaru set.
TECH
Improved Main Menu loading time slightly.
Improved snow coverage looks and density in Winter.
Improved how the weather affects roofs in buildings – no more rain or snow inside.
Autosave name now has local time instead of UTC.
SFX
Loudness improvements.
UI
Added missing UI icons for Empty entrances and Ramp Entrances in exterior segments, floors, and shrines.
Improving the villager details in the Ul layout.
Updated scroll bar display and quest description.
Disclaimer text is now smaller in the Loading menu.
Improved job management slot size.
Improved Discord invitation text size and frame.
Improved decoration categories in the building's radial menu.
Changed the water item icon to a droplet to make it less confusing.
Recipe Unlock notification made more visible and will display longer.
A Big Thank You From Us
Dear Survivors,
News have reached us that many, many of you have reached a new shore and started a new life in the beautiful Nata valley.
We cannot begin to express how excited and grateful we are to see so many of you playing Sengoku Dynasty!
To see you play our game, alone or together with friends and maybe even newly found friends, to see you helping each other out with tips and tricks and maybe a hammer hit or two, it means the world to us.
Your Reviews and your Feedback are extremely valuable to us now that the Early Access has started (and beyond). We have received some of it already and cannot wait to hear more. Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, to let us know what you like and dislike, what wishes you have for the future, or if you need help.
This Dynasty we build together! Thank you for being part of it.
Yours, The Teams of Superkami and Toplitz Productions
PS: Thanks to your feedback we are already preparing another patch for early next week. We also are aware that some of you are experiencing performance issues and will do our best to address those as soon as possible.
Sengoku Dynasty – Early Access Roadmap
Youkuso!
We're thrilled to provide an update on the roadmap for Sengoku Dynasty. It's based on thousands of hours played by the Superkami team and testers, has been designed to ensure an enriching experience and encompasses several exciting enhancements. You will notice that some of the things listed in the roadmap are already present in the game - this means we will spend a lot of effort to making them much more complex and interesting.
First - in the next upcoming months:
Starting with the "First Steps", we will be collecting your feedback, tackling bug fixes, and improving quality-of-life. Your voice is pivotal in our decision-making, and we're committed to addressing these concerns. Please use the Steam forums and the Sengoku Dynasty Discord and leave as detailed feedback as you wish!
Moving forward to "Planting Seeds", we're diving into substantial content updates. Expect the introduction of an agriculture system, an entirely new NPC village, and fresh quests. These additions will provide a new depth to the gameplay and its immersion.
Our emphasis on "Personal Growth" reflects our intention to deepen character progression with the introduction of perks, status effects, and an exploration of spirituality, giving you more shrine variety and places of power mechanics rework. This will pave the way for more personalized and strategic gameplay as you advance.
In the "Hero's Journey" phase, we're excited to reveal the addition of a female character and starting character classes. These updates will diversify the character pool and offer new possibilities for gameplay. We know a lot of you are waiting for this, and we want to make it a great and substantial update!
As we look into the Future Focus, combat is set to become more complex, with new weapons, enemies and fighting techniques, and the introduction of randomized events will add an element of unpredictability. Remember - combat will always be optional for players - if you just want to opt-out of it and just build and chill, you can choose to do so! We're also working on an advanced economy, a wider variety of NPCs, and additional options for family interactions and romance to enhance your immersive experience.
Lastly, we'll be expanding the game world with additional map regions (Region 2 and 3), and infusing them with more storylines, villages, and quests to keep your journey engaging. This will effectively first double, then triple the narrative content, as well as add new biomes, production lines and more. We are very excited about this!
Remember. This is our vision. But we chose to go Early Access to hear yours too! Your thoughts are essential to us, so please continue sharing your feedback and suggestions. Together, we can make Sengoku Dynasty even more compelling.
Stay tuned for more updates, and we appreciate your continuous support.
Hotfix 0.1.0.1
Thank you for playing Sengoku Dynasty.
It is only the beginning of our journey through the Nata Valley. Teams at Superkami and Toplitz Productions are working hard to address the issues you have brought up in the discussion threads and reviews. While some may take more time to resolve, we would like to present to you the first 0.1.0.1 Hotfix for Sengoku Dynasty.
Expect the next - bigger - update on Monday.
Fixed “Herbs for Mata” seasonal quest not being able to complete (requires changing season to take effect if played from save)
Fixed saves sorting to start with the newest one
Fixed incorrect resource amount added to special projects when the item was in multiple stacks (mostly logs)
Added a server password widget to the in-game menu. Click it to copy the password directly to the clipboard (helps to avoid revealing the password and stream-snipes)
Removed similar letters and signs like 0, O, 1, I, and l from server password generation for better readability
Fixed missing map marker for NPCs showing as a white square
Fixed player stats icon duplication after blessing ends
