It's been two months coming, but 0.4 is finally here!
Anyone who made it out to EGX Rezzed in London this week has had a chance to check the new build of game out (and gave me a few things to tweak before release). I had an awesome time meeting fans and showing off the game and I'm REALLY proud of where it's managed to reach. There's over 50 new improvements to the game, many of which should be instantly noticeable by watching the NEW RELEASE TRAILER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MrAnUDYQ60
Basically I've overhauled most of the way that the game handles to make it smoother and more efficient. 3 Days of stress testing and the game never crashed or froze. Not once. I'm really proud of that. So I can happily say that this is a MUCH more stable build of the game than you've experienced previously.
The framework of the game is in place with this update and I'm sure you'll all be able to see that now. This is the first time it's actually felt like a game. With this all in mind, the price of the game has been raised slightly to compensate for the new amount of content and to thank everyone who has purchased the game so far getting an even better value for their initial investment!
There's obviously still a few bugs here and there, some stuff I've decided not to fix yet because I wanted to get this update out. I'll likely focus on those over the next week or so and push out an incremental update when I can.
EDIT: Some players are confused at the lack of contextual menus.
Buildings no-longer have their own menus because due to a game design point of view it was going to become incredibly taxing and complicated for each building to have its own menu with the amount of new stuff I'm looking at adding. For this reason, buildings auto-restock and can be upgraded via the library. Placing buildings that have functions will unlock a sub-menu within the pre-existing systems. Such as the Barracks unlocking training in the Hero menu.
With the introduction of Hero needs this also made sense. They will automatically visit the tavern if they're idle, and decide to do so. They are now in control of their own needs.
Hopefully this clears things up.
Update Notes
New Features
- Autosave Added
- Edge Scrolling Added
- New Kingdom Section System Added
- "Official" Quest Type Added
- New Music Track
- Ovehauled UI
- Message System Upgraded
- Theatre Added
- Barracks Added
- New Training Sub-Menu
- Replaced UI Text with Icons
- Heroes, Adventurers & Buildings now have Info Boxes when you click them.
- Attractiveness Meter
- New Help Guide Menu with Basic Text Descriptions
- Updated Mouse Cursor
- Heroes are now Alpha'd in the Hero Menu when Unavailable
- Heroes can now be loaned to Kingdoms upon request
- Settlements can now be Invested into if they like you enough giving a return each month.
- Building Maintenance now shown in Building Menu
- Happiness added to Stats Menu
- Hero Menu UI Updated
- Heroes now have needs
- Competing Kingdoms Stats Menu
- Hero Traits Added
- Feedback Added to Debriefing during Custom Quest
- Epic Quest Descriptions Completed
- Building Ghost Hovering
- New Kingdom Section
- Bounties can now be activated within Menu
- Bounty Requirement can now be seen when selecting a Settlement
- Heroes can be removed from quests by clicking their icon when assigned
- "Official" Quest Type Added
- Upgrades removed and replaced with Library Research Tree
- Building UI Prompt buttons now functional
- Followers now remain in Kingdom based on their Happiness and Gold.
Optimisation
- New Node Mechanic
- New Building & Tile System
- Optimised game world to only draw within Viewport
- Improved Saving/Loading
- Depth Sorting Fixed for Buildings
- Minor Optimisation Improvements
Balance
- Adjusted Building Prices
- Lowered Maintenance Prices
- Quarter Day Timer Removed
- Quest Earnings relate to Happiness
- Quest Earnings relate to Heroes Stats
- Quest Scoring Algorithm Improved Slightly
- Minor Balance Changes
Bug Fixes
- Background can no longer be zoomed whilst in Menu
- Minor Bug Fixes
As always the Save Files will be completely useless with this update and will cause your game to crash. So starting a new game is advised.
What To Expect Next?
Now it's all about adding content to the game and fixing the stuff that's currently broken.
There's a new building system running underneath the game that's going to make it much easier to move/delete stuff, so I'm definitely focusing on that first.
I'll then start looking at more new buildings. I want loads of new decorations. I'm really enjoying them now. Stone walls are a must.
Finally, I want to really expand the AI on adventurers and the Kingdoms in the land. Allowing players to destroy them and call in favours.
Watch this space.
All the best,
Skatanic Studios
IF FOR ANY REASON YOU'D PREFER, YOU CAN ACCESS THE PREVIOUS MOST STABLE BUILD VIA THE "ROLLBACK" BETA IN THE BETA TABS OF THE RPG TYCOON PROPERTIES IN YOUR STEAM LIBRARY