Greetings Lords & Ladies, and a lucky Friday the 13th to you all!
Over the past few months I’ve been hard at work pushing development forward and bringing the world of Before Arthur closer to life. We’re steadily approaching our first playtest, and if all goes well I’m hoping to have an early demo available in the next few updates.
Here’s a look at what’s been added recently:
AI Update: One of the biggest areas of work has been improving the faction and NPC AI systems.
Factions are now fully active in the world. They raise armies, raid villages, and lay siege to towns and forts as they pursue their ambitions. Meanwhile, NPC lords and kings who are not leading armies now go about their day-to-day lives, tending to their personal needs and managing their lands.
Factions and nobles can also now construct their own buildings, towns, and villages, meaning the world will grow and change dynamically as you explore it.
Polished Land Claiming: I've added a short event that fires when you claim new territory. Showing you what was claimed and the difference to your borders.
Kingdom Religion: Both your kingdom and rival factions can now manage their realm’s religion.
A kingdom’s level of faith will influence the stability of its people. If faith falls too low, negative events may occur, peasants may convert to other beliefs, unrest may spread, and loyalty can suffer. Maintain strong devotion, however, and your kingdom may receive positive blessings and events.
Indepth Kin System: A new Kin System UI now allows you to see detailed information about the families living in your lands and where they are working.
Over time, these family units develop lives of their own, forming marriages, having children, and sometimes even developing feuds with rival families.
Keeping them loyal, prosperous, and content will be important for maximizing their productivity and preventing unrest, banditry, or criminal activity.
New Weather System: A new dynamic weather system now tracks weather patterns as they move across the world.
Rain, droughts, storms, and snow can all affect the land, and each weather system influences local farming output. These conditions can also trigger farm events that further impact crop yields.
Lord Dialog & Kingdom Voting: NPC lord dialogue trees are now complete, allowing you to speak with them about matters affecting their lives and lands.
Their responses are dynamic and influenced by their personalities and past events in the game world.
I’ve also added a kingdom voting system, where faction members decide who should receive newly conquered lands—introducing politics, alliances, and rivalries into the process.
Law Improvement: Expanded on the law and punishments options integrating the system into how kingdom loyalty and lawlessness is determined.
More updates are on the way as development continues toward the first playable demo. As always, thank you for following the project and supporting the development of Before Arthur.