Castle Constructor is now entering Beta release! With this update alpha has been wrapped up, the major systems have been implemented and there has been some additional performance improvements to make the game run better. The full list of changes is below.

While this is a big step forward there is still plenty more to do before the game is complete. To reflect this the in game roadmap has been updated with some more detail of what is left to do before we consider the game to be complete. The next update will be focused on improvements to the UI and adding in the first part of the campaign.

As usual please let us know if you encounter any issues or have any suggestions on improving the game.

Major Features:

• New Workshop block - Gives small improvements to certain blocks when adjacent to it as well as produces Chevals each wave.
• Improved the pathfinding, reducing chances of units getting stuck and improving performance by keeping units from moving when they don't need to.
• Transition screens - The game now has transition screens to smooth out loading
• Level animation - Rather than appear fully formed a level will now spawn in tile by tile.
• Improved Animation performance - Adjusted the soldier models to greatly improve the animation performance. Has a larger effect late game when there are a lot of defenders.
• Better siege targeting - Units will now better handle shooting at siege units. They will target individual pieces of armor, soldiers riding in the siege unit, or parts of the frame instead of just shooting towards the center of the siege unit.

Changes:

• Creative Mode - It is now possible to change the units in a wave at any time instead of not being able to during the wave.
• Cards in the players hand which are only usable during the build phase will now slide down right after calling the next wave instead of waiting until the wave actually spawns.
• Siege Ladders now have 3 units on them instead of two, 1 on top and 2 on the bottom.
• The ramps on Siege Ladders and Siege Towers now have a better animation.
• Adjusted the keep pathfinding to improve crossing from an adjacent block to the keep.
• Adjusted how ranged units determine if they can hit a target to reduce how often they will cancel shooting.
• Catapult block updated to have crenellations matching the Battlements block.
• Updated the main menu
• The side panel showing card information now also shows which blocks alchemists and workshops will effect when looking at either of those cards.

Fixes:

• Fixed a couple issues that caused the game to crash in previous versions.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused arrows to be shot near vertically.
• Adjusted the hex ranges of the stone mason, barracks, and archery range so they don't flicker when rotating the view.
• Creative Mode - card slots now have the correct frame color for the type of card the slot contains.
• The list of resolutions in the options menu no longer has duplicate resolutions.
• Adjusted pathfinding on Siege Ladders and Siege Towers to make it easier for units to cross the ramp.
• Creative Mode - Fixed an issue that caused the Volley card to spawn fire arrows as if it were a Fire Volley.
• Fixed enemies sometimes walking through the barracks.
• Fixed ranges not showing up while placing a block.
• Fixed archer range not showing the range bonus from height while placing it.
• Fixed Stone Masons not effecting the tower they were in.
• Fixed an issue where climbing defenders would not teleport to their positions when starting the wave.
• Multiple minor fixes and code improvements to reduce error propagation.
• Fixed Battlements not adjusting properly when adjacent to a Guard Post.