Hello everyone.
We’ve fallen a little behind our update schedule since our lead programmer was on vacation, but in the meantime a lot has piled up, so today’s update is going to be quite large and interesting.
The update goes to the BETA branch. All saves are compatible. We'd also really appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and feedback in a Steam review. It's a powerful way to let us know what you think and will help inform future patches. If you'd like to help and support Norland's development, then that is the way!
Developer mode
In response to community requests, we’re giving you access to our Developer Mode. Inside it, you can tweak and adjust various things, create characters, and so on.
Achievements are disabled in this mode, and to activate it you need to add the launch key -debug in the settings (LAUNCH OPTIONS) and then press Ctrl+D in the game.
By popular demand from our Russian-speaking community, we’ve also added a battle simulator, where you can experiment with how our combat system works.
Group conspiracies
Politicians with low army loyalty - meaning they have poor chances in an armed rebellion - can now stage group conspiracies against their enemies and the king. For this they will need accomplices: followers, puppets, or even a hostile neighboring king.
This way, politicians may at some point set a trap for their enemy, kill them, and arrange everything to appear innocent in the eyes of the other lords.
Right now there are five types of conspiracies: unfair duel, failed hunt, deadly passion, and fervent prayer.
What lies behind these names - you’ll have to discover for yourself.
Usurpers
When someone seizes power illegitimately, they gain the Usurper trait. Other lords - and especially the former heir - hate the usurper, while the usurper himself will execute his enemies on the scaffold.
On the other hand, on the global map there’s a kind of reversal of relations - enemies of the old king welcome the new ruler, while the old king’s friends, conversely, are displeased.
Public policy
We’re continuing to develop our experimental mechanics based on simulating society, since politics is about building hierarchies within such a society. Until now, this hierarchy only had a few levels, but with the addition of popular support, things are getting more interesting. At the same time, we’re unifying the old systems of loyalists and fanatics.
This system is still in its early stages and not working 100%, which makes your feedback all the more valuable. Play, write to us - we’re here.
So now kings, the bishop, and politicians will have followers not only among soldiers, but also across the broader population. The king’s followers are loyalists, the bishop’s are fanatics. Loyalists and fanatics no longer appear automatically - they now share the same appearance mechanics as political followers. Besides military victories, they can be gained through loyalty sermons (with the possibility of converting other people’s followers, though not fanatics).
Political demands
Politicians now also have political demands (a small number so far).
For example, a politician bribed by a neighbor may want you to sign a peace agreement with his patron. If you refuse, his fiery speech to his supporters will incite unrest; if you comply, his sermon of support will raise spirits among his followers and give a productivity bonus.
New relations menu
There was some confusion: in the relations menu, you saw a character’s relations toward other lords, while on the global map you saw kings’ relations toward our king - in other words, the opposite perspective.
We’ve decided to unify this into one system, updating both the character relations menu and the display on the global map when zoomed out.
Thus, in the character menu you can now see their relations toward the selected lord. You can also tick the interest box to immediately see who is sighing over that character.
New buildings
We’ve added stone upgrades for the Hall and lords’ houses (with improved comfort bonuses), as well as updated models for the Library and Temple.
Next week we’ll move on to the Quarry, so everything will fit together organically.
Full changelog:
New mechanics
Conspiracies of lords against each other and the king added
-debug flag for launching the game in developer mode added
City residents will now have loyalty to politicians
Politicians can now demand fulfillment of their political demand
If a political demand is fulfilled, the politician will hold an "approval sermon" and temporarily boost mood and productivity of his supporters
If the political demand is ignored, the politician will hold a "riot sermon" and worsen the mood, starting riots among his supporters-citizens. They will begin attacking supporters of other politicians
The book "Eternal Loyalists" removed
Loyalist riot temporarily disabled
Mechanics of loyalists changed - now it is a visible trait showing that the character is loyal to the king
Automatic appearance and disappearance of the Fanatic trait depending on the character’s mood removed
Graphics and interface
Assets of the Library and Temple have been changed
Hall upgrade to level 2 added, comfort display added to the Hall menu
Upgrade of lords’ houses to level 2 added
Relations tab in the character menu updated
City information panel updated when zooming out on the global map
Exclamation mark display added in the distribution menu for a resource that is not enough for everyone
Fixed detection of invisible zones under building roofs so that characters are not displayed when the roof is closed
One new faction symbol and two new background patterns for the coat of arms added
When selecting a character, the roof of the building they are in will be removed
Experience and balance improvements
Starting fields replaced with carrot fields, starting flour replaced with carrots
Guards will intervene in fights of citizens who riot after a politician’s calls
Thoughts from the Emperor’s coronation will now be temporary, and the thought "We are doomed" will disappear after defeating the Inquisition
A puppet of a ruler from another faction will start an uprising only if that ruler’s relation to the player is <= -15; a puppet of the bishop, when starting an uprising, will demand to hand the crown to the bishop, not to himself
Beggar mobs will become active on day 3 instead of day 4, and bandits can appear in the player’s city from day 5 instead of day 7
Algorithm for AI requesting military aid from the player has been changed. If the AI has twice as many forces as the enemy (considering fortifications), it will not request help. AI will not request help from the player if relations are <= -25 (exception - the player is an ally or suzerain of the AI). If the AI is in great danger (attacked by the Horde or an AI with the goal of destruction), it will request help from the player in any case
Recruiting a hostage into your faction now worsens relations with the lord’s former faction by -15
Thoughts about usurpation of power after an attempted coup in the player’s city added
Warning added that research will take longer due to the lord’s skills
Hint added about slow research progress
Hint added that the lord does not keep up with learning knowledge
The technology for paying salaries in gold has been removed, now payment is available from the very beginning of the game
Gold cost display of an already assigned sermon added
New action "Ask to become a vassal" in an AI city added
Deserting soldiers from the player’s city will leave their equipment in the warehouse. They will take their gold with them
On-screen event added, describing the results of holding any type of sermon
The thought "related through marriage" weakened to +15. Family connection "Son-in-law - Father-in-law" added, which gives +25 relations
Cost of the sermon of joy and sermon of doubts increased, duration and strength of the positive thought from the sermon of joy increased
Bug fixes
Fixed a hill in the northeast of the Gorno map where there was a gap for passage along the lakeshore
Fixed a bug where after deleting a sell task for a resource on the local market, those resources continued to be sold there
Fixed errors where characters could get the desire for happiness for a child who was no longer alive
Fixed a bug where "Sexual desire" did not disappear if the "Sublimation" trait was present
Fixed a bug where after a successful AI city defense with its army in an auto-battle, the result was as if the enemy had refused to attack instead of being defeated
Fixed a bug where some modifiers of interest were not counted if sex between characters was impossible due to good relations or the "monogamous" trait
Fixed a bug where the burning sound of a tower after a battle on the global map could remain on the local map
Fixed a bug where the "Reconciliation Gift" command did not work
Fixed a bug where rebel lords and soldiers were not considered enemies and could not be attacked with orders
Fixed a bug where beggar mobs could not attack the player’s city
Rebels now break into the warehouse when taking equipment
Fixed a bug where children were not born with 2 talents