Songs of Conquest News

[p]It is that time of year again. The time when game developers in our part of the world swap hoodies for knitted jumpers and coffee mugs for… slightly different coffee mugs. What we are trying to say is that Lavapotion will soon close the office for our winter holiday and return in early January.[/p][p]There may still be some activity on our social channels and Steam during this time, but things will certainly move at a slower pace. It’s time for us to take a short break, spend time with our families, and work through the never-ending list of Steam games we've bought but never quite found the time to play![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You would think that is a gif from Songs, but it's just the view from the office
[/p][p]Looking back, it has been an eventful year for Songs of Conquest. We released the Roots faction on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. We introduced Simultaneous Battles, improved co-op play, and made meaningful changes to random maps. Along the way, we passed 750,000 copies sold, and work on our next faction continues steadily behind the scenes. All in all, we are very proud of what the year has brought.[/p][p]It is still surreal to see how far this small HOMMage has come. What began as a love letter to a genre we grew up with has become something much bigger, and that is entirely thanks to you. Your support, feedback, and enthusiasm made all of this possible. We know we say this often, but it remains just as true.[/p][p]We will not go too deep into what lies ahead. We only recently shared our PC roadmap, and repeating ourselves would take some of the fun out of it. Soon, we will release the Steam page for Yulan, and after that, it will be time for my personal favorite Kastus Maal and Rise Eternal to take the stage and put the death back in undeath.
[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Before we power down our workstations and head into the break, we do have a small Christmas gift for you. We are sharing a short scene featuring some of the art assets for Yulan, our upcoming faction. Please keep in mind that this is still a work in progress, but it is already shaping up as a unique addition to the varied biomes of Songs of Conquest.
[/p][p][/p][p]We can't wait to see what you create from this and all the things still under production! [/p][p]And with that, we want to wish you all the best in the weeks ahead, wherever you are and however you choose to spend your time. We look forward to continuing the journey together in the new year.
[/p][p]/ Anders and the rest of the Lavapotion team[/p][p]P.S.

One final note. We recently sent out the first rough demo of Wielders of the Essence to colleagues and friends, and the feedback so far is very promising! We are looking forward to sharing it with you early next year. It may be a smaller project, but the team working on it is deeply invested. Wishlist it to stay up to date with development and future updates.

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[h2]Greetings Wielders
[/h2][p]Come gather around the campfire friends, it’s time to tell Tales! What does that mean? It means we have just launched a major update for Songs of Conquest with a strong focus on the story and world of Aerbor.[/p][p]Before we go through everything included in the patch, let us answer the simple question of why. The first reason is simply that we love to tell stories (both grand and humble) inside SoC. The second reason is that you asked us to. While the response to our faction DLCs has been excellent, many of you have asked for more story-driven content. More lore. More insight into what happens in our world Aerbor. Adding fully fledged campaigns is a huge undertaking, but creating linked story maps is a way for us to at least start scratching the same itch. There are still many unanswered questions from the campaigns after all![/p][p]Another common point of feedback was that we have already created story-heavy maps, only in a smaller format. The tales of Sorg the troll or the Roots Wielder Grow were clear examples, yet we did not do enough to present them as the lore-rich experiences they were. So we decided to add Tales as a new section in the game, making sure they were easily found, gathered up in a nice bundle for you to play.

Look at them, all bundled up, just for you![/p][p]We also want our campaigns and Tales to be for everyone, regardless of playstyle. That means revisiting the difficulty of the Tales we have already made. Originally, these were story-driven challenge maps, and not necessarily the first thing a new player would tackle. To open them up, both new and old maps now come with the full range of difficulty settings. Whether you enjoy overwhelming challenges or prefer a more relaxed gaming experience, as I do, you can approach the Tales in a way that fits your playstyle.

[/p][p]You also asked for more connected stories. With this update, we are adding the Tale of Wonder as a free addition to the game. It contains two lore-heavy missions that follow the tinkersmith Mehry Wondercraft after her capture in the fourth Loth mission. The missions explore the aftermath of the activation of the beacons in the Loth campaign. Her path is not an easy one. She will face determined foes, angry Rana, and more than one mystery that may reveal answers for her guild.
Tough start for a tough Wielder, although she did loose to a guy with a rat fixation[/p][p]Mehry is only the beginning as more Tales are coming! Kastus Maal is preparing to rise from his grave to claim vengeance on behalf of the Unseen Society. As a newly risen undead Wielder, Kastus will gather forgotten artifacts, uncover old research, and command the Risen in large numbers with new abilities. His campaign will be larger in scope, with four connected missions that carry him across Aerbor in search of power and the remnants of his family.

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Rise Eternal, together for her.[/p][p]There are many stories left to tell and many questions waiting to be answered. Which Tale or Wielder would you like to see next in Songs of Conquest? Your feedback is, as always, important and really helps us decide what we do next. We are also aware that there is a great wish for more “traditional” campaigns (or songs, as well call them!) but this is a way for us to get more stories playable for you while we consider the long term feasibility of creating more traditional songs![/p][p]Enjoy the new Tale, and look forward to more news next year about Kastus Maal and the progress on our new faction.
[/p][p]/ Anders and the rest of the Lavapotion team[/p][p]
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[h2]Greetings Wielders
[/h2][p]Since many of you have asked so kindly, we thought a late November gift was in order. Today we are sharing the new PC roadmap for Songs of Conquest.[/p][p]Why only the PC roadmap, you might wonder. The simple truth is that these are the dates and times we can stand behind with confidence. Console updates are underway, including the push toward Switch, but we are not ready to attach dates to those yet. We prefer clear plans over vague promises. You learn from past mistakes, even when you are a middle-aged game developer. [/p][p]But enough of that. You are here for the roadmap of a scrappy pixel strategy game, so let us get to it.[/p][p][/p][p]It's a busy year ahead

Quite a sight, isn’t it? For our most attentive readers, much of this will look familiar, we talked about this not long ago, but now with a bit more detail. The Tales update arrives in only a few weeks, and Rise Eternal follows early this spring. First though, the spotlight belongs to Mehry, the face of our upcoming Tales release.[/p][p]Mehry leads the way with our new Tales concept, bringing two connected, story-rich missions. Her Tale also begins to answer a few old questions from the campaigns. What happened after Bhigli did what he did to the beacons? Where did she end up after her defeat and capture by our favorite rat-obsessed researcher from the Unseen Society?[/p][p]Her two-mission escape may introduce Tales, but it is also part of a small rebrand. We want to gather our story-focused maps into something clearer and easier to find, all thanks to suggestions from you, the community. The update will bring improvements to menus and presentation to make things a bit clearer and easier to find for those who enjoy our campaigns and story-maps.
[/p][p]Tale me all about it?

There is more ahead. The long-awaited Tale of Kastus Maal arrives with Rise Eternal in early spring 2026. This one will be a DLC with a new Wielder, four connected missions, new features, new map entities, new artifacts, and more uncovered lore. The only thing it will not include is a new song from our in-house bard, since those take more time and resources than you might expect. Kastus Maal will get his own post a little later, where we really delve into his story.

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Join an absolute throng of Risen and wishlist Rise Eternal!

But you knew much of this already, so here is something new to look forward to. Work continues at full speed on our next faction. Creating a faction is one of the most time and resource-consuming tasks we take on, and Yulan is definitely no exception, rather a bit more than usual. We have now begun the animation process, and the units are starting to come alive at the art department. Since the art “team” is only a literal desk away, we took the opportunity to borrow a few fresh images and animations as a reward for reading this far. Enjoy.

Just a few more for you, it's like a scratch ticket that wins every time, now with names!



We will wrap up this short update and roadmap reveal here. There is a lot under construction, and we will share dedicated updates for both Rise Eternal and our new faction as development continues.[/p][p]Thank you for your ongoing support, your ideas, and your feedback. They make an enormous difference to us, especially now when the winter season has settled in here in the cold north.[/p][p]Thank you.
[/p][p]/ Anders and the Lavapotion team[/p][p]P.S.

Thank you as well for all the wishlists for our palette-cleanser project that a small part of the team is working on. It is a lighter game experience than SoC, but its made with a lot of enthusiasm on our side.
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[p]It’s that special time of year again:  the Steam Awards are back! If Songs of Conquest has been a faithful companion through your gaming year, if you’ve seen it grow, evolve, and get a little shinier with every update… then maybe it deserves a nomination in the “Labor of Love” category?[/p][p]We’ve poured our hearts into this game, and your support keeps us thriving. If you agree, give us a nomination. It means the world to our small, but stubborn, crew![/p][p]And while you’re at it, why not take a moment to leave a review or update your old one? Every word helps new players discover the game and keeps our community vibrant.[/p][p]Thanks for standing by us on this long and wondrous journey. We’ll try to keep the magic alive, one turn at a time.[/p][p]/Team Lavapotion[/p][p]
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