Feudums News

[h3]Dear Feudums Community,[/h3]
(including queens, kings, rulers, pretenders and other aspirants)

First thing first: for more consistent bite-size updates, please consider joining our discord — it's integrated with our game states, and you can choose the news you want to hear about. Alternatively, opt for the newsletter for notifications about community polls or game updates (we do not send mails about anything else). Rest assured, we never spam you on either platform, but unlike Steam posts, these can reliably keep you in the loop.

Alright, now let's quickly recap what you can expect in the coming weeks.

[h2]Community Polls[/h2]
The single-player poll will close at the end of February to make room for the next community poll on the next major milestone. Be sure to cast your vote on the current topic while you can!

[h2]Status Report[/h2]
With my own reserves depleted and the game not yet monetized (remember that we're fully committed to avoiding any pay-to-win element!), I'll need to allocate time to other projects so I can pay the bills. This could mean fewer updates than in the past year, but I'm determined to spend as much time - and money - as I'm able to on Feudums. I also plan to stick to our continuously updated, interactive developer diary model to continue providing full transparency and early collaboration with you. If you can afford it, you can support Feudums (and unlock nice perks) on Patreon, allowing me to dedicate more time and resources to the project, but if you cannot - don't worry about it.

Despite the challenges this year might force upon us, we've weathered worse times since our start, and we're resilient to move forward.

[h2]Next Demo Update[/h2]
We're planning to update the demo build next week, ideally right after the current game ends. Expect a couple of hours of downtime as we update both the game and server infrastructure. The new demo build will include several fixes and changes based on your feedback as well as new content.

Thanks for reading the news.
To arms!

Noble ladies and lords,

I thought you would like if I'd release a quick update to the demo before Christmas, probably the last one this year. This one didn't require a game server update (we did do a minor update to other parts of the server before the current game started though), so it won't interrupt any game.

Thanks for being with us on our journey, and I hope you'll also stay with us in 2024!
To everyone who celebrates, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, on behalf of myself and every contributor! :)


Please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.

[h3]What else is on the horizon?[/h3]

We're currently running an important poll on the possible single player content and it is super important that I understand what interests you most. So please, take the opportunity and participate in the dialogue, vote even if you don't care about single-player!

Link (Google Forms): Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.

As there have been questions about it, I would also like to clarify that a possible single player version would not be to the detriment of multiplayer, but to complement it - like I would prioritize features and contributors' works that can be used in both versions, and both would maintain their own unique features (and yes, of course single player would be turn-, and not async tick based! ;) ).

I was originally going to put out the poll on the next multiplayer milestone before Christmas, but unfortunately there have been fewer responses to the single-player poll than I'm comfortable with, so we'll have to wait a little longer - so if you haven't yet casted your vote on that topic, this is a perfect moment to do it!

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of this regularly updated demo, our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• Garrison tactics have been slightly rebalanced.
  
• Expansion costs now follow a bit more of an exponential curve.
  
• Diplomacy upkeep costs are reduced to make formal diplomatic relations more attractive.
  

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Major Needs: The "stockpile" of major needs has been moved from the labourers section to the feudal indicator section and now also shows the supply/demand balance of the last tick in addition to the stockpile. A detailed breakdown has been also added (in the expanded section of the tooltip).
  
• Feudum indicator tooltips have also been updated.
  
• Added better handling and visual clues for abandoned feudums.
  
• Integration: You can now log in to our website using your Google or Steam account (authentication will be handled by the appropriate provider, just like in the client). This will become important for the community poll for the next multiplayer milestone.
  

[h3]Bugfixes / Optimizations[/h3]

• Fixed: several NREs on Feudum Card / Labourer section / Indicators when the player has unsubcribed
  
• Fixed: Buttons weren't properly masked in the Dashboard/Settings scroll area.
  
• Fixed: Terrain-based labour output was ignored for major needs tooltips (they were calculated and reported correctly, just not shown in the tooltip breakdowns)
  
• Several smaller glitches / UX inconsistencies
  

There's more coming soon, so make sure you clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :)

If you can afford it, please consider supporting the development on patreon, so I can continue to devote my time and resources to the project and complete the remaining milestones in a shorter timeframe.

Until the next update and the next year... Enjoy Feudums!

Noble ladies and lords,

Our demo has been updated and should be available on Steam in any minute.
Thank you for your patience, and please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.
(But please also read the next paragraph!)

[h3]What else is on the horizon?[/h3]

We're currently running an important poll on the possible single player content. As this is still mostly a one-man show which I don't monetize at all, it is super important that I prioritize what interests you most - and for that I have to understand your priorities! :).

So please, take the opportunity and participate in the dialogue, and please vote even if you don't care about single-player! It is also a totally valid opinion, but without casting your vote on it, it won't be visible.

Link (Google Forms): Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only like 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.

Once the single-player poll is over, the next milestone priority vote on the next set of persistent multiplayer features will follow.

In the meantime, I'll continue to add features that many of you have asked for throughout the year, but have not yet been included.

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of this regularly updated demo, our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!

[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• Garrisoned Improvements are no longer impassable. Since it is not yet possible to siege improvements (will be part of the milestone poll!), a garrison exploit allowed ungarrisoned improvements to be used as a wall. Now, however, an empty garrison can be crossed, and garrisoned improvements can of course still be attacked and cleared, thus, opening the way for invading armies. You can also walk through your own garrisons without having to temporarily exchange units between the company and the garrison.
  
• Garrison & Company stances/tactics have been slightly rebalanced.
  
• Commands will now not start, or hang at finish if the command tile is a garrison that is in a battle on another tile.
  
• Companies' pathfinder logic has been updated.
  
• Farmland change: if a farmland improvement has 0% area for crop fields or pastures, it will not take labourers for it (farmers / herdsmen) so it can't be used to suppress unemployment.
  
• Guide: I have added some new topics based on your feedback, changed the order of topics in some cases, and corrected or expanded every reported inconsistency / missing content.
  

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Command costs are now reported in your dominion queue and appear in the treasury badge breakdowns
  
• Several reports have been merged in Feudum, Dominion and Company Reports (labourer reports, company health + morale reports, etc.)
  
• Fresh water source now also explicitly tells the amount of health bonus it provides to your feudum.
  
• New military stances have received their final icon sets.
  
• Diplomacy has received it's own icons, and the diplomatic proposal dialog has been updated and additional hints were added for extra clarity.
  
• You can now see a banner on your dashboard whenever there is an active community poll, and by clicking on it, the poll will open in a browser. Please participate!

[h3]Bugfixes / Optimizations[/h3]

• Upgraded the terrain generator's code for better river handling.
  
• Refactored Command definitions and validators in the moddable rulebook
  
• Fixed: Abandon Tile reported FeudumMaxTiles Exceeded instead of Wasteground MaxTiles.
  
• Fixed a bug that would report river branches (and fresh water sources) incorrectly in a specific case.
  
• Fixed the terrain builder being unable to generate mountains and deserts in specific cases/regions.
  
• Fixed: Bug Report newline normalization had extra newlines
  
• Fixed several potential issues with LabourOptions validations (Rulebook validation)
  
• Fixed: HexCoordinates deserialization can return (0,0) instead of Undefined on failure.
  
• Optimized several allocation-heavy scenarios.
  
• Remove rarely used debug caching from treasury/yield/upkeep/shortage calculations
  
• Updated admin layout for rulebook editing.
  
• Updated several commands to prepare for coming updates.
  
• Updated the labourer roster to prepare for coming updates.
  
• Updated our site for the coming multiplayer priorities poll.
  

There's more coming soon, so make sure you clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :)

If you can afford it, please consider supporting the development on patreon, so I can continue to devote my time and resources to the project and complete the remaining milestones in a shorter timeframe.

Until the next update... Enjoy Feudums!

Noble ladies and lords,

I told you November would be a busy month, and it was, just not quite the way I expected. The end result was that the promised polls had to be pushed back a bit... but only until now!

Our first, long overdue poll topic is single-player content, which many of you have asked for on our different channels over the past 6 months. So I would like to take the opportunity to get some additional guidance on your preferences. As this is still mostly a one-man show, it is super important that I prioritize what interests you most. So please, take the opportunity to shape this story!

Please vote even if you don't care about single-player! It is also a totally valid opinion, but without casting your vote on it, it won't be visible.

And stay tuned, because the multiplayer milestone poll is coming next.

[h2]Link to the Community Poll[/h2]
Since I know that some people follow the game for the single-player content and are not interested in persistent online multiplayer (yet?), this time I have used google forms, so it can be filled out without a Feudums account.

Link: Feudums: Single-Player Poll (https://forms.gle/PYYpqymkrsxYQK4r7) Depending on your answers, it will take only like 20 seconds to 3-4 minutes to complete.
[hr][/hr]
As always, I invite you to play the early version of Feudums, join our discord and help us refine the game as we progress - and now also to give us additional feedback and join the dialogue about single-player! If you can afford it, please also consider supporting Feudums' development on patreon, so I can devote more time and resources to the project. Thank you!

Noble ladies and lords,

The moment has finally arrived - with the recent update, the first version of the in-game guide has been added to the client, along with several UX and bugfixes. The changes are not game breaking, so there is no mandatory downtime for server updates this time - however, I hope that some of the changes will be "game changing" for many of you. :)

The update should be already available on Steam.

Thank you for your patience, and please find the changelog at the bottom of this post.

[h2]What else is on the horizon?[/h2]

November will be a busy month - there will be a community survey on the single player experience, and you can also vote on the next milestone feature set later this month.

In addition, we'll continue to patch the UX and guide content - any feedback on either is greatly appreciated - and I've got some exciting additional features and content planned for before Christmas.

As always, I invite you to play the early versions, join our discord and help to refine the game as we progress. Take advantage of this regularly updated demo, our transparent and interactive developer diary, provided for early collaboration with you to make Feudums the game you want it to be!



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Notable Gameplay Changes[/h3]

• In-Game Guide is a new per-game guide (progress will reset for each game). The content was created in close cooperation with the community - I would like to especially thank player Aggamemnon for his help. The guide keeps track of the topics you've already read in a game and, depending on the settings, continues with the next topic whenenever you enter the game or open it manually. Each entry also keeps track of "point of interests", which are shown in the UI (when they are currently visible - otherwise you'll get a note that they are hidden) when you hover over them in the text. This hopefully will help you to get familiar with the UI much easier. Note: For experienced players, the feature can be turned on and off under Settings/Preferences.
  

[h3]UX/UI Changes[/h3]

• Feudum Reports: Labour resource decays are merged into a single report.
  
• Added new client settings under preferences to (a) Disable Guide, and (b) Disable Weather effects (note: will add more granular settings later).
  
• There is a new report in battles for events where a (severely damaged) unit inflicts 0 damage to the opponent.
  

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

• Fixed: TerrainBuilder mountain generation. Sea and Desert generation logic have been also updated.
  
• Fixed: The Last Seen value for a Company's composition is not set properly in the tick update sent to the client.
  
• Fixed: Garrison labour safety output report was missing in the tick update sent to the client.
  
• Fixed: Lance Origin was not set properly in subsequent Rally Troops.
  
• Fixed: Don't calculate empty garrison LoS (and some other data)
  
• Fixed: NRE in dashaboard listview (during tweening) in some edge cases
  
• Fixed: (Regression Bug) Labour outputs are not shown in Indicator tooltips.
  
• Fixed: Cannot resolve SwingAndAMiss report during battle
  
• Fixed: Food Ration display doesn't show the appropriate icon on Feudum Card.
  
• (Fixed/Updated various issues on the backend (admin) layout and logic).
  

I hope that you will appreciate and enjoy the changes. There's more coming soon, so make sure you clicked Follow on Steam and joined our discord to stay in the loop! :) If you can afford it, please also consider supporting the development on patreon, so I can devote more time and resources to the project and complete the remaining milestones in a timely manner.

Until the next update... Enjoy the games!