Tomorrow we're first gonna release this update using the beta branch to iron out any major issues because there were so many big changes that something will likely break.
(This is how you can find the betas: in Steam library right click "Hardland" and then select "Betas")
To give a quick overview of what's gonna be in the update here's the partial changelist:
The beginning of the game will change completely. The new starting location is Town of Fortuna and there's more quests in that location. These quests can be completed and it feels more like the Training Grounds missions. (compared to the total randomness of the last version)
New hunger mechanic which is tied to stamina. You have to have some food in your inventory if you want to be at your strongest. Cheap food items will be automatically eaten when the player character reaches the hungry state. It's a bit like in Betrayal at Krondor where you didn't need to micro-manage the eating process itself but you had to have supplies with you.
Hires: http://i.imgur.com/ovMg0Rm.png
Massively improved city generation, looks like this currently and it will keep improving:
(notice the properly aligned fences, watch towers, no stuff piled on top of roads)
Hires versions:
http://i.imgur.com/kEiBIvP.png
http://i.imgur.com/PFBj5Nn.png
On the eye candy side we've got a high quality motion blur, pictured here:
Hires versions:
http://i.imgur.com/TLjhw2s.png
http://i.imgur.com/BD7uydh.png
http://i.imgur.com/RXGjjXO.png
(nerdy side note: Motion blur required motion vectors which also opens the door for temporal anti-aliasing, the kind seen in Ryse. It gives that clean film style look and helps in flicker prone environments like forests.)
Much more reliable collision detection. (There were some broken characters in the last build)
Chests require keys to open.
Better handling of factions.
New wizard NPC.
Better minimap.
Huge pile of other tweaks and bug fixes. More info and screens to follow!
Cheers,
Timo