Increase visibility of unit outlines during winter
Increase visibility of spawn bounds during winter
Change look of campaign map trees during winter
Show campaign name on campaign win screen
Improve look of round castle damage
Add fires to round castle when damaged
Enable all friendly damage when realistic player damage is enabled
Make demo army setup specific, remove randomization
Remove ability to attach unit to stormram
Allow player to surrender besieged settlement
Allow player to sally out from besieged settlement
Allow player to view besieged settlement and open battle dialog
Removed ability to wait for nightfall from demo
Tweak player stagger modifier when permanently damaged by arrows
Change campaign game-over text
Disable extreme violence in demo
Rename lumberyard to lumber camp
Fix first person frisian skirmisher colors
Fix horses not fleeing anymore when rider is killed
Fix settlement sieges not ending when making peace
Fix player not losing campaign if ruler is captured after battle
Fix skirmish siege defense army composition
Fix siege battles not failing when all breaching options are depleted
Fix player not losing campaign when surrendering settlement with ruler
Fix AI building mines in battle when wall is not breached
Fix attrition not affecting units
Fix not being able to rear horse with lance equipped
Fix player total strength not displaying on campaign win screen
Fix collision on gatehouse tower in round castle
Fix floating ladders on walls with destruction
Fix player still being able to give orders after battle
Fix player not dying from trebuchet impacts
Fix units still getting dismember when option is disabled
Hotfix - September 19th 2023
Changelog
Improve unit rotation behavior, prevent moonwalking units during sieges
Make defending units stack up behind sapped wall
Change West-Frisia heraldry to match Frisias
Change tournament arena to new fortification style
Change tower in tutorial area to new style
Fix crash happening when detaching formation from siege engine
Fix archers airwalking on ladders
Fix AI formations stuck too long in fighting state
Fix AI building all siege engines at once during campaign
Fix AI controller logic persisting after unit death
Fix units spawning on top of water well in square castle
Fix AI building advanced siege engines in early game
Patch Notes - September 19th 2023 - Let there be castles!
Hello everyone,
This time an exciting update introducting stone castles and extended sieging mechanics to the game. The update adds 2 new castle type and revamps the wooden castle by adding raised dirt mounds like the test version had.
Siege changes Siege battles have been revamped and now feature 3 different types of castles. Each castle features 3 damage levels that occur when being sieged with a trebuchet during the camapign, this is also selectable from the quick battle menu, destruction levels will never fully breach the walls and only do visual damage.
Sapping is now a really strong option to bring down the front wall of the castle and charge in directly. This can be combined with ladders for an assault from all directions.
Campaign Castles now have a central role in the campaign and will take time to besiege, forming an actual challenge to overcome. You first have to lay siege to a settlement which will take one season and costs 10 wood. This will take the settlement hostage and deplete their food storage every season. When the food storage is depleted attrition will kick in and units inside the settlement will slowly start to die. Choosing when and how to attack will have a big impact on how you charge into battle and if you will charge at all or just wait for them to starve enough to surrender.
Misc This update also contains a lot of other changes like being able to rename officers and settlements and officers aging every year. The look of the campaign map has also improved and the map feels a lot larger now. You can find all the changes in the patch notes!
Full Changelog:
Add fortification: Square castle
Add fortification: Round castle
Improve design of wooden castle
Limit number of formations in castles to 4
Show siege camp on campaign map when settlement is under siege
Starting a siege costs 10 wood
If attacking player has no borders with sieged settlement the siege will be broken
Campaign damage propagates to castle building: level 1 75% health, level 2 50% health
Constructing a trebuchet will damage a castle each season
Add attrition icon to settlement flag when food is depleted
If food is depleted settlement garrison will start losing units
A settlement loses 1 food in storage per turn when under siege
When starting a siege the settlement food storage gets locked to the amount of food a player has
Can lay siege to castle settlements taking them hostage
Player builds siege engines on campaign map
Change Ten Bosche to swamp area
Units from attached formation replacedead units on siege engine
Change settlement info commander icon depending on ruler or not
Add missing control info about formation shape changing to formation UI
Add support for different water height levels during siege battles
Change ladder units to cheap militia
Add formation events for siege engines
Allow player to send units to ladders specifically
Allow player to select type of castle in quick battle menu
Allow palyer to attach formations to siege engines during battle
Add formation icons to siege engines
Add options for wall sapped to quick battles
Imrpove smoothness of a couple of campaign UI animations
Check if position is free before doing a finisher move
Add icon to sector flag if wall is sapped
Add info tooltip to realism mode buttons
Remove redundant formation orders from game
Improve foliage removal algorithm for siege battles
Add options to have permanent damage to player from arrow hits, default enabled with realism mode
Improve campaign watchtower icon
Improve burning unit particle effect
Adjust unit siege engine follow speed
Add more ambient sounds to forest areas
Change battle text to 'siege of' when castle is built in battle dialog
Add disable fire arrows menu options
Some units drop weapons before fleeing
Prefix settlement name with 'kasteel' when a castle is built
Improve on fire animation to die transition
Improve archer sidearm behavior
Add only use trebuchet during siege battles menu option
Add particle effect for fireless burn
Add option to toggle unit outlines
Add building types for new castles
Add snowy dust to buildings in winter
Add sharpening slider to options menu
Add random flag wear system
Add menu options to disable random flag wear
Add boiling water defense option: pour boiling water on attackers passing the gate
Add new campaign icons for castles
Add clouds of mist to forest and swamp areas on campaign map
Add new data structure for castle building types
Make sure units do pathfinding towards navigation areas during siege battles
Non armor penetrating arrows can break or bounce of heavy armor
AI only use fire arrows in cinematic mode
Add ambient sound to siege camp during battle
Add cut tree stumps around siege camp
Slightly reduce ambient lighting during spring and summer on realistic color mode
Allow player to rename officers in unit details screen
Allow player to rename settlements in settlement info bar
Add selection option for siege damage to quick battle menu
Incremental siege damage is visible on battlefield
Add ash particles to fire places
Add support for dynamic castle landscaping
Switch around breda attacker and defender spawns
Add new tactics for AI Cavalry armies
Remove defensive catapults from game
Improve siege trebuchet aiming
Make ladders interactable: press E to mount ladder when prompt is visible
Increment age of officers each year
Attacking formations can only flee the castle when gate is opened else they will fight to the death
Can't call horse when enemies are nearby
Change standard infantry unit size to 72 from 75
Add local screenshake to storm ram impacts
Increase follow distance when formation is attached to siege engine
Add missing wood production icon to settlement info bar
Increase negative public orde rmodifier from emergency taxes to -4 from -3
Add missing tooltip for sally out button
Improve siege pathfinding for AI
Frisians can only build wooden castles
Add crown icon to settlement flag indication wether ruler is in settlement
Removed number of owned settlements widget from settlement info bar
Change ladder units to the right army culture
Lower stormram movement penalty when damaged
Lower storm ram speed by 25%
Show construction icon on settlement flag when buildings are under construction
Randomize fleeing unit movement speed
Prevent rebelleion from starting when ruler is in settlement
Slightly increase kill chance on lance impact
Player will always perform finisher on officers and generals when context is right
Show unit 'health' on unit icons in campaign UI
Improve tournament notification sound
Decrease size and imrpove placement of campaign map trees
Fix crash related to missing component on unit death
Fix siege ram triggering destroyed gate behavior multiple times
Fix skirmish reinforcements having wrong commander culture
Fix player camera when climing a ladder
Fix 3d bounds showing when playing as siege defender
Fix dismounted cavalry still making horse noises during siege battles
Fix archers only using backisde of wooden castle tower
Fix Kennemerland dunes castle spawn position
Fix turn ending when you press leave alone in occupy screen
Fix player not spawning with formation when attacking during siege
Fix floating bodies during siege battles
Fix units climbing air sometimes instead of ladder
Fix formations changing shape when attached to siege engine
Fix siege defenders spawning formation banners
Fix AI unit focus when gate is destroyed
Fix defending units falling through floor during siege battles
Fix units using ladders after battle has ended
Fix units hit with fire airwalking in some situations
Fix units making grunting noises and taunting after battle has ended
Fix projectile impacts not making sound on siege engines
Fix weather controller not respecting 'increased sunny weather' option
Fix units still in combat pose after battle
Fix stormram operators not being hit by projectiles
Fix units running really fast under some circumstances
Fix backward walk animation of stormram
Fix some water calculations still running during winter
Fix some units not behaving properly after battle
Fix end battle cheer not triggering when enemy wins fight
Fix oorlogsbede policy not adding income to settlement
Fix formation not detaching from siege engine when moving
Fix archers not routing properly during siege battles
Fix fire arrow stuck in air when dropped
Fix date not displaying correctly during tournaments
Fix Pathfinding around stormram
FIx stormram collision
Fix arrows never being destroyed
Patch notes August 24st 2023
Changelog
Allow player to stay on battlefield after battle, end battle by pressing escape/special right
Some militia units will scavenge the battlefield after battle
Formations will return to start after the battle has ended for a while
Add info about battle to pause menu
Add option menu to pause menu
Randomize militia colors from heraldry
Highlight selected formation with outline
Unit highlight color depends on color mode
Deploy bounds color depends on color mode
Add new material to 3d deploy bounds
Add small chance of spawning dying breathing sounds on eliminated units when intact
Raise speed needed for horse to be killed by stake
Don't extinguish fires after battle ended
Make AI controlled archers fire more recklessly in cinematic mode
Normalize ranged unit speed after drawing sidearm
Set correct uniforms for feudal flag units
Tweak number of banners in infantry formations
TWeak egmond and brederode areas
Make brederode heraldry orange again >> might revisit later
Add fire sound to fire sources
Tweak enemy formation icon
Fix skirmisher unit range during siegebattles
Fix kills by spear brace not being counted by formation
Fix dropped items still showing unit outlines
Fix unit outlines persisting after some death situations
Fix fire effects ending abruptly
Fix jittery flicker on unit outlines
Fix mount horse in control list showing wrong keybind
Fix stakes still showing when not having units that can deploy them
Fix key prompt only flashing once in prebattle widget
Patch Notes - August 21st 2023 - Cavalry Update
Hello Everyone!
This time an exciting update addressing cavalry movement and behaviors during battle. Horses have received a huge upgrade to their movement and don't stop and turn in place anymore during battles. The cavalry movement still has some bugs and odd behaviors that will be ironed out over the next updates, but overall it's a huge improvement.
This update also contains a lot of fixes and quality of life improvements. Polearm infantry has received a big upgrade making them able to decimate the most elite cavalry units when the conditions are right. Friendly units are outlined during the deployment phase and when the formation interface is opened. Units are made slightly more generic to deceive your eyes more, making the armies feel less cloned.
You can now also cycle formation shapes when having a formation selected in the same way as during deployment by using the spacebar/left trigger. You can confirm the new space by moving the formation.
Thank you for all the support so far! I am excited to show what I am working on for the next updates.
Full Changelog
Implement new cavalry movement
Tweak AI Cavalry combat logic
Improve AI Horse animations
Highlight friendly units during deployment
Highlight friendly units when formation interface is open
Revert tree leaves not being shown
Change deploy bounds to 3d mesh
allow player to cycle formation shapes the same way as during deployment by pressing space/left trigger when formation is selected
Add 5th formation to demo battle to prevent confusion about battle size
Make formations bracing spears break less quickly
Decrease time interval to check whether formations should brace spears
Increase baseline of formation disorganisation to prevent perfect lines
Add new unit icon for crossbow militia
Add missing controls to pause menu
Prevent player from calling horse during siege battles
Add enemy lord back to quick battles
Add breath particles to horse gallop sounds in cinematic mode
Make units more generic and indistinguishable
Add missing player action prompts
Imrpove crossbow reload animations
Improve block animation for round shields
Add horse icon to fleeing player horse
Reduce chance of instant kill on lance impact
Make main menu camera FPS independent
Tweak cinematic player damage values
Only show battles defenses when you have formations that can use them
Increase chance of polearm units rearing hit horse
Fix formation shape cycling with gamepad during deployment
Fix deployment gamepad control list
Fix cavalry commanders using on foot attacks with sidearm
Fix crash when enemy is hit right after dying
Fix commander mounting horse spawning wrong class
Fix flags not showing stats after capturing settlement
Fix not being able to attack from dordrecht to Breda
Fix heraldry colors on first person arms
Fix heraldry colors on mounted commanders
Fix blood levels on mounted commanders
Fix disabling unit shadows when setting is off
Fix gamepad possess button triggering when not having formation interface open
Fix potential crash while mounting horse
Patch notes August 16th 2023
Hello Everyone!
This patch contains a host of fixes and improvements to the game. It is now possible to call your horse again after dismounting. This is by default bound to C/Gamepad special right. This greatly enhances player mobility and makes dismounting a less weighted choice.
During your campaign you can now transfer units when you have occupied a new settlement. This allows you to keep a couple of units behind if you wish.
Full changelog
Allow player to call horse after dismounting, by default bound to C/Gamepad special left
Show watchtower on campaign map if built
Fix aggressive cavalry archer stack strategy wrong AI deployment
Fix banner unit generation for formations
Hide tree leaves while deploying units for better clarity
Fix ranged units getting stuck in volley on battle ended
Decrease navigation generation time
Add transfer screen after occupying a new settlement allowing you to select wich officers will take up the new garrison
Apply recommended settings automatically at first startup based on user hardware
Decrease melee unit weapon reach
Increase polearm unit weapon reach
Add unit attribute for 'can use fire arrows'
Only show fire arrow button during deployment when player has units that can use fire arrows
Decrease unit size for Skirmishers and Vlaminc to 36
Player can select enemy faction in quick battle menu: alternate clicks select enemy or player faction
Tweak colors on conifer trees to blend in more with landscape
Improve sutfen area map
Improvements to brabant area map (Ten bosche/nijmegen)
Improve utrecht area map
Add landscape footsteps to mounted player in normal battles
Change holy roman empire heraldry to one headed eagle
Remove shields from militia infantry, give cavalry damage bonus and spear bracing
Fix gamepad controls in demo prologue menu
Add a chance of clear weather occuring during winter
Improve sword and shield block animation
Player always performs a finishing move on fleeing enemies
Fix game starting in borderless window causing mouse problems for some users
Fix close cavalry camera being enabled by standard
Fix officer/commander spawning
Fix officers spawning in ranged formations wielding melee weapons
Check out the free demo!
Hey everyone,
I am excited to anounce you can now download a free demo of the game on the steam page.
It serves as a prologue to the main game and contains the battle of Hoogwoud in 1258. The battle where the Frisians killed King Willem II and changed the history of the low countries was made. You can play as both sides and choose between a cinematic variant of the battle in a thunder storm and a replica of the actual battle in harsh winter conditions.
The demo also contains a new type of weather, clear winter weather will also be added to the main game in the next patch.
I encourage you to try out the game!
If you have questions or comments let me know in the discussions.
Thank you for all the support!
Updated game roadmap for 2023
Hello everyone!
I want to present the updated roadmap for the remainder of 2023. The game has come a long way already thanks to your support!
Extended customization options
The game will steer towards a user content driven ecosystem. This allows players to customize their experience and create campaigns and factions. Want to create a custom campaign set in france? Done.
Stone castles
Currently there are 2 tiers of fortifications, both with wooden walls. Stone castles are planned and currently worked on and will have you siege actual medieval fortresses using ladders, trebuchets and stormrams.
Gameplay and interface work
The game will receive continues updates to the gameplay and UX. The game has already improved a LOT since launch and will continue to do so.
New pricing model
part of the more defined new direction will be a new pricing model. Currently the game is 30$ (with regional price differences) and that is a tough price point to compete as an indie. I have decided to split the base game into three seperate parts allowing new players to start playing the game by spending less money.
The game will be split into: - Voor de kroon (Base game with battle engine and faction customization) - Voor de kroon - The Conquests (Campaign framework) - Voor de kroon - Honor and Steel (Tournaments)
The price of the seperate parts will amount to approximately the same price the game is now. No one will get the short end of the stick.
All players that have already bought the game will have all the content added to their account for free.
I am looking forward to improving the game and adding features and content. The road to 1.0 is long, but I am excited to be on this path with you.
If you have questions or something to share let me know in the comments!
Thank you!
Kevin
Patch notes August 7th 2023
Changelog:
Add new heraldry icons for custom lords
Player starts on foot during sally out in sieges
Tweak wetness of objects in rainy weather
Attacking archers move away from castle when defender sallies out
Set default fire mode for units in cinematic mode to forced fire
Fix some units falling through landscape when spawning during siege
Fix stormram starting move sound when sally out battle has ended
Fix formations not reacting to commands correctly when sallying out
Fix crash occuring when formations haven't spawned properly
Patch Notes - August 3rd 2023 - Tournaments Alpha
Hello Everyone!
This update integrates tournaments into the game that are available as quick battles and randomly occur during the campaign. It also includes new weather wetness and wind effects and various fixes and improvements.
There are also two new units added to the game. 'Vlaminc' which are flemish mercenaries equipped with a crossbow and a goededag as sidearm. They have the same properties are skirmishers and are excellent melee fighters and won't route easily. Another new unit is the elite knight on foot, they fight with 1.5 handers and are a force to be reckoned with.
You can play jousting and melee tournaments in quick battles and select how you want to play. You can play a small tournament or a single battle and choose the weapons you want to use. In the campaign tournaments can randomly popup as a game event if you are playing as a feudal lord(non frisian) and you can choose to join the tournament allowing you to earn reputation with the ohers lords. On realism mode tournaments only popup during summer and spring with sunny weather, on cinematic mode they can popup in all seasons and weather types.
So is it all doom and gloom? No, not at all. The new patch contains way brigther summer and spring colors for realism mode really bringing out the summer feel. This patch improves the look and feel of all weather types overall.
I hope you enjoy it. For suggestions, comments or problems: drop a post in the discussions.
Thank you!
Full Changelog:
Fix random quick battle map option not actually giving a random map
Can't attack with garrison when commander is not available for attack
Mustering units can now defend settlements and are only blocked for attack
Fix bug causing settlement to have no commander after firing current commander
Add stakes to all frisian infantry
Add attribute generation based on unit attributes (New campaign only)
Rename perks to attributes
Fix militie using two handed strafing locomotion
Prevent matchups between brederode and other hollandic factions in quick battles
Fix barter offers not appearing when no game events have taken place
Winning a tournament unblocks diplomacy with other lords
Winning a tournament gains +2 favor with all other lords
Participating in a tournament gets you +1 with all other lords
Tournaments in campaign are random events: Can start during warm sunny weather or when cinematic color mode is on during any season and weather.
Only feudal lords can participate in tournaments
Remove prologue lord Willem II from random quick battle lords
General work and tweaks on all battle maps
Add wind effects during bad weather to foliage and physics
Remove dead horse sliding dust in rainy weather
Add a bit of directional lighting during bad weather
Add landscape wetness when it's raining
Lower frequency of slowmotion effect occuring when breaking lance
Fix battle UI max health displaying wrong
Add short window of damage resistance to lance hits when player starts rushing on horse
Add close mounted camera distance menu option
Add flemish mercenary unit, a heavily armed crossbow unit with a goedendag as sidearm. Can stand their ground in melee like skirmishers
Add elite knights on foot unit with 1.5 handers
Change two handed ground finisher attack
Make weapon and unit blood only appear when chainmail is damaged enough
Change sound effects for ground finisher, chainmail deflect
Add tournament game mode
Fix player T posing when hit by trebuchet projectile
Fix cavalry commander sword scabbard placement
Change two handed blocking to parry, instead of holding down you can press block once to parry.
Change spring and summer sunny weather lighting for realistic mode
Improve sky sun positioning logic
Add failsafe to charging logic to prevent formation from being pushed back too much
Fix player targeting logic for AI
Fix most unit idling during battle problems
Tweak unit combat targeting range
Add small counter when having more than 3 reinforcements in battle dialog